Police investigating if and how Presley Gerber got drugs in rehab

A big question that many have asked since the death of Presley Gerber Sunday is how the 27-year-old son of Cindy Crawford got ahold of any drugs that may have killed him after he checked into a high-end Santa Monica treatment center.

While the cause of death has not been determined, pending further testing, Santa Monica police are investigating the tragedy as an apparent drug overdose, the Los Angeles Times and other outlets have reported. Gerber, a former model, had long been open about his struggles with substance abuse and mental illness and his efforts to stay sober.

A law enforcement source told the Los Angeles Times there is no indication of foul play, but police are attempting to track where and who the drugs came from.

Questions have been mounting over how illicit substances may gotten into Resolutions Living facility, a $7.7 million rehabilitation home located in a seven-bedroom mansion. Families expect that such a facility would be a safe, controlled environment for people battling addiction. It’s also typical for people and their belongings to be searched when they check into rehab, and their comings and goings from the property to be monitored if it’s not a locked facility.

TMZ reported Monday that Gerber appeared to be under the influence when he checked into the home at about 10 p.m. Saturday, the night before he died. He “did not appear sober,” TMZ reported, while a source told Page Six that he “wanted so, so badly to be free of his addictions.”

The next morning, Gerber went into cardiac arrest before his death, according to 911 dispatch audio obtained by Page Six and other outlets. Paramedics were responding to a report of a possible overdose, reports said.

Entertainment writer Rob Shuter reported on his Naughty But Nice Substack that a former patient at Resolutions Living contacted him to say that substances were readily accessible at the facility.

“Drugs were everywhere,” the former patient said. “If you wanted something, somebody knew how to get it. Families thought their loved ones were protected inside those walls, but that wasn’t the reality I saw.”

According to the Resolutions website, its “beautiful three-story luxury property features breathtaking views of the ocean and city lights, while remaining nestled away in a safe and discreet neighborhood,” the Daily Mail reported.

The co-ed facility comes with spacious quarters, an in-home theater and fitness center, and its mission is to “provide the structure, recreational opportunities, life skills, vocational coaching, accountability and community necessary to support men and women in their recovery from mental health, addiction, and co-occurring disorders,” the Daily Mail also reported.

Given that a cause of death has not been determined, experts cautioned against drawing conclusions from the fact that Gerber died at a rehabilitation facility, Fox News Digital reported.

Nicholas Kardaris, Ph.D., CEO and chief clinical officer of the New York Center for Living in Manhattan and a clinical professor at Stony Brook Medicine’s School of Social Welfare, told Fox News that there could have been a number of issues going on with Gerber, including the possibility he had an acute medical or cardiac event, an undiagnosed condition or a medication-related complication.

People in residential treatment facilities may have complex medical histories, and some conditions may not be immediately apparent when someone enters a program, Kardaris told Fox News.

“Younger people can sometimes die suddenly,” Kardaris said. “It’s not impossible to have a medication-related event, particularly if someone has an underlying heart disorder.”

Kardaris also told Fox News that entering treatment does not necessarily mean that no danger exists, or that a person’s issues have been resolved, Kardaris emphasized.

“People are in rehab because they’re struggling with addiction. It doesn’t mean they’re cured of their addiction,” he said. Even when facilities work to create a controlled environment, they cannot eliminate every risk associated with addiction, withdrawal, relapse or medical complications, he also said.

“Facilities take great pains to make sure substances don’t come in, but it’s not a perfect system,” he said.

Another potential risk during rehab is withdrawal itself, which can range from uncomfortable to life-threatening, Kardaris said. The risks of withdrawal depend on the substance involved and the person’s level of physical dependence.

“People can die from withdrawal,” he said, noting that withdrawal without medical supervision is most dangerous when it involves alcohol or benzodiazepines, such as Valium or Xanax. Benzodiazepine withdrawal can cause seizures, delirium and other life-threatening complications, Fox News reported.

While opioid withdrawal can be extremely uncomfortable, it is generally not fatal by itself, Kardaris said. However, a person can be at risk in the period just after detoxing from opioids. That’s because of the changes in their physical tolerance for the drug.

“If someone relapses after rehab, they may use the same amount they were using before treatment — but their tolerance has gone down, and that amount can now be fatal,” Kardaris said.

In various confessional social media posts over the years, Berger said he had used and abused numerous drugs, including Xanax and Valium for anxiety, ketamine and Adderal, opioids, Buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid addiction, and medications for night terrors, the Daily Mail reported.

In 2024, Berger revealed that he had survived a fentanyl overdose that left him in a coma for several days and had completed several stints in rehab, the Daily Mail reported.

Earlier this year, Berger expressed optimism about his recovery chances after he traveled to Mexico to undergo addiction treatment with ibogaine, a naturally occurring psychoactive substance that is being studied experimentally. But Kardaris told Fox News that ibogaine is not FDA-approved for use in the United States and its safety and effectiveness is uncertain.