Officials in Costa Rica are reversing course, and are now saying it does not appear that asphyxia killed Miller Gardner, the 14-year-old son of former New York Yankees star Brett Gardner. "It was preliminarily ruled out that the cause of death was due to asphyxia, due to the fact that at the time of the inspection of the body, no anomaly was observed at macro level in the respiratory tract," an official with Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Agency said after consulting with a pathologist. It could be two to three months before autopsy results come back, NBC News reports.
An official tells CNN asphyxiation was under consideration because vomit was found around his body when it was discovered in his hotel bed Friday morning, but ultimately it was determined that his airway was not obstructed. The family had reportedly gone out to eat at a restaurant separate from their resort Thursday night and started to feel ill with gastrointestinal symptoms when they got back to their hotel; they were given medication for stomach upset by a doctor at the hotel. Food poisoning is suspected, but toxicology tests will determine whether that's what killed the teen. The hotel has released a statement confirming the family did not eat at any of the resort's restaurants the day prior to the tragedy, People reports. (Food poisoning killed a mother and her young son at a resort in the Dominican Republic.)