Costa Rican authorities raid hotel in Miller Gardner death investigation

By Djenane Villanueva, Jill Martin, CNN

(CNN) — A hotel in Costa Rica where 14-year-old Miller Gardner, the son of former New York Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner, was staying when he died, was raided Thursday to gather evidence, authorities told CNN.

The Quepos and Parrita Prosecutor’s Office said to CNN on Friday that it conducted the raid to collect evidence relevant to the case, which is related to the teen’s death.

Miller Gardner died March 21 while on vacation with his family due to carbon monoxide inhalation, the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) of Costa Rica previously said in April. The family was staying at the Arenas Del Mar resort.

The Thursday operation consisted of seizing documentary and digital evidence, which will be analyzed, the prosecutor’s office said.

ESPN previously reported on the hotel raid.

The investigation into Miller Gardner’s death continues, with this latest action coming almost six months after his death. This is the second raid carried out at the hotel in this case, the prosecutor’s office said, with the first on March 28.

The local office of the OIJ in Quepos, which serves the central Pacific area of the country and is in the area where Miller Gardner died, told CNN on Friday that it was asked to expand its investigation into the case.

This time, the search was carried out at the request of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which the agency confirmed. The request was made specifically by the Quepos Prosecutor’s Office.

CNN is seeking comment from the hotel. CNN has reached out to the Yankees to seek comment from the organization and from Brett Gardner, who played for the team for all 14 of his MLB seasons and won the World Series in 2009. He retired after the 2021 season.

The prosecutor’s office said that the initial March 28 raid was done with “engineering professionals from the Operational Unit of Hazardous Materials of the Costa Rican Fire Department as well as Forensic Engineering from the Judicial Investigation Organization.”

“That first inspection allowed for the development of hazardous atmosphere measurements and the detection of the presence of carbon monoxide in the room where the Gardner family stayed,” a press release from the prosecutor’s office said.

“As a result of that operation and based on all the evidence gathered during this stage of the investigation, the Prosecutor’s Office determined the need to carry out a new raid in order to seize another type of evidence.

“These proceedings seek to confirm or rule out whether the event constitutes the crime of involuntary manslaughter, that is, to determine if this person’s death was caused by a breach of duty of care. For now, there are no identified suspects.”

The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2025 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.