The news hit the baseball community like a lead weight in March 2025. Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of beloved former New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, had passed away. It wasn't on a field or back home in South Carolina. It happened during what was supposed to be a relaxing family getaway at a luxury resort in Costa Rica.
For days, the internet was a mess of rumors. People were whispering about food poisoning. Some thought it was a freak medical episode. The family’s initial statement was gut-wrenching but vague, mentioning that Miller and several other family members had "fallen ill" before he passed away peacefully in his sleep.
Honestly, the truth turned out to be much more terrifying than a bad meal.
The Official Miller Gardner Cause of Death
After a thorough investigation by the Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ), authorities confirmed that the Miller Gardner cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.
It wasn’t a guess. The toxicology reports were definitive. Randall Zúñiga, the director of the OIJ, revealed that Miller’s blood showed a carboxyhemoglobin saturation of 64%. To put that in perspective, anything over 50% is typically considered lethal.
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The investigators also found a physical "layer" on the young man’s organs during the autopsy. This is a classic, grim marker of heavy exposure to the odorless, colorless gas. While the family initially felt sick after a dinner—leading many to blame a local restaurant—that was a red herring. The real danger was inside the walls of their own lodging.
What went wrong at the resort?
The Gardners were staying at the Arenas Del Mar Beachfront & Rainforest Resort. It’s a beautiful spot, but beauty doesn't mean safety when it comes to infrastructure.
Investigators found that the family's room was located right next to a mechanical room. This maintenance space housed heavy machinery, and it appears a leak or "contamination" allowed carbon monoxide to seep into the guest quarters.
- The Silent Killer: Carbon monoxide is sneaky because you can't smell it or see it.
- The Symptoms: The family reported feeling sick the night before, which they mistook for food poisoning. That’s the tragedy—headaches, nausea, and fatigue from CO poisoning feel exactly like a stomach bug or the flu.
- The Timing: Miller died in his sleep. When you’re sleeping, you don’t notice the dizziness or the confusion. You just stop breathing.
Costa Rican officials worked alongside the FBI to piece this together. While the resort stated they were cooperating and pointed out they had passed health inspections just weeks prior, the high levels of gas found in the mechanical closet were hard to ignore.
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Why this case changed how we travel
This wasn't just a freak accident; it was a wake-up call. We often assume that luxury resorts have everything handled. We think "it's expensive, so it's safe."
But the reality of international travel is that safety regulations are a total patchwork. In the U.S., many states require carbon monoxide detectors in hotels, but even then, it’s not a universal federal law. In places like Costa Rica, the requirements can be even more relaxed or simply unenforced.
The Yankees organization held a moment of silence for Miller, a kid who lived for the outdoors—hunting, fishing, and playing ball just like his dad. But for the rest of us, his story became a survival lesson.
Lessons for Families and Travelers
You shouldn't have to be a mechanical engineer to go on vacation. But until international hotel standards catch up, the burden of safety is kinda on us.
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If you’re traveling, especially to a resort where you’ll be near laundry facilities, boiler rooms, or generators, you need to be proactive. Honestly, the most important thing you can do is pack a portable carbon monoxide detector. They’re about the size of a deck of cards and cost twenty bucks. It sounds like overkill until you realize it's the only thing that would have alerted the Gardners that night.
Don't ignore "group illness" either. If everyone in your party gets a headache or feels nauseous at the same time, don't just blame the shrimp tacos. Get out of the room. Breathe fresh air. If the symptoms clear up once you're outside, you have a gas problem.
Moving forward
The investigation into whether criminal charges will be filed in Costa Rica has been a slow process. The prosecutor's office has been tight-lipped, noting that they have to determine if this was "natural or criminal" negligence.
For Brett, Jessica, and Miller's brother Hunter, the answers don't bring him back. They just highlight a gap in travel safety that most of us never think about until it's too late.
To protect yourself on your next trip, take these three steps:
- Purchase a travel-specific, battery-operated CO detector today.
- Check the location of your hotel room relative to "machine rooms" or "maintenance closets" upon check-in.
- If you feel "flu-like" symptoms that hit everyone at once, evacuate the building immediately and call for a professional sweep of the air quality.