California Dad's Mysterious Disappearance on Anniversary Cruise Stuns Family
A Carnival cruise passenger who went overboard has been identified as a 56-year-old father of three who was on his anniversary trip when he vanished in the ocean.
Thomas Gigler, who was reportedly marking the milestone with wife Michelle, 48, was sailing aboard the Carnival Panorama when he is understood to have jumped on Saturday.
The California computer programmer, who spent 24 years working for Esri, is believed to have gone off the 11th deck as it traveled from Mexico towards Long Beach.
His family raised the alarm after he could not be found. Authorities continue to search for Gigler, who is presumed dead.
The US and Mexican Coast Guards continued searching the area, with the Coast Guard conducting aerial searches while the Mexican Navy and nearby commercial vessels also joined the effort.
Gigler’s family has been left struggling to understand what happened. His sister, Wendy Dowden, pushed back on a fellow passenger’s claim that he had spoken about problems in his marriage during a conversation at the ship’s Alchemy Bar the night before his disappearance.
Dowden told the Daily Mail that her brother and Michelle “were getting along quite well,” rejecting the suggestion that marital problems had driven him to jump.
Instead, his family believes something unexpected may have happened to Gigler shortly before he went overboard.
“We think something must have happened in his head. He wasn’t in his right mind to have done this,” Dowden said.
The family said Gigler had no known history of mental illness. The couple lived with their three sons in Redlands, California, about 64 miles east of Los Angeles.
A video shared on Facebook by another passenger aboard the ship captured an announcement to those on board about the ongoing search.
“We have yet to locate the missing guest. Our fleet operation in Miami and appropriate authorities have been notified,” a cruise official appears to say in the video.
“In the meantime, we continue for the family and friends. Our search efforts continue and we will keep you informed. Thank you again for the cooperation.”
The announcement appeared to ask passengers for their continued cooperation as the cruise line coordinated with authorities and continued searching for the missing passenger.
Another video shared to Facebook by passenger Misty Hernandez showed fellow passengers coming together to remember the man, with a small memorial display covered with handwritten messages, prayers and other tributes for his family and friends.
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