A 56-year-old father of three died after going overboard during a family cruise, just days before he and his wife were due to mark their 15th wedding anniversary.
Thomas Gigler was traveling with his wife, Michelle, and their three sons, aged 13, 11 and nine, aboard Carnival Panorama when he went overboard on Saturday, six days into the vacation.
Gigler, who lived in Redlands, California, is believed to have jumped from the ship’s 11th deck as it sailed from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, toward Long Beach, California.
Michelle, 48, became alarmed after realizing her husband was missing and began searching the vessel before notifying cruise staff.
After looking for him without success on Saturday morning, she asked crew members to page Gigler over the ship’s public-address system.
Announcements urging Gigler to report to staff began at about 11 a.m. and were repeated several times. Between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., the ship turned around as efforts to find him intensified.
Passengers said Gigler’s name was broadcast across the vessel for hours while crew members continued searching for him.
At about 3:30 p.m., passengers were instructed to remain in their cabins while staff conducted a ship-wide search. Crew members went from room to room and checked identification, but Gigler was not located.
Thomas Gigler, 56, and his wife Michelle, 48, were aboard the Carnival Panorama when Thomas went overboard off the coast of Baja California.
Gigler and Michelle were due to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, four days after his death. They are pictured on their wedding day with Gigler’s parents, Thomas and Diana, on September 23, 2011.
Carnival personnel reviewed security-camera footage and later determined that Gigler had gone overboard off Baja California and was missing at sea.
No trace of him was found in the surrounding waters, and the ship eventually resumed its journey.
Passengers were later allowed to leave their cabins as the search was handed over to local authorities.
The U.S. and Mexican Coast Guard agencies are continuing the search, although Gigler is presumed dead.
A computer programmer who spent all 24 years of his professional career at software company Esri, Gigler reportedly gave no indication of his intentions. The reason he went overboard remains unknown.
He and Michelle had planned to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary on Wednesday, only four days after his apparent suicide.
U.S. and Mexican Coast Guard rescuers are continuing to search for Gigler after he went overboard from the Carnival Panorama (pictured), but he is now presumed dead.
Gigler and Michelle are pictured on a boat during their wedding nearly 15 years before his death.
Gigler’s devastated family told Our News Outlet they were unable to understand what led to his fatal decision and said they did not believe he had a reason to take his own life.
The couple appeared to share a happy family life with their three sons in a three-bedroom home in Redlands, roughly 64 miles east of Los Angeles.
All five stood outside the house in March 2020 to show support for local teachers at the start of the Covid pandemic, their eldest holding an adorable sign saying ‘I miss you’ to his favorite ‘Ms Wood.’
A cruise passenger who claimed to have met Gigler at the ship’s Alchemy Bar the night before his death claimed the missing man spoke of having marriage issues.
But Gigler’s sister Wendy Dowden rubbished this allegation when contacted by Our News Outlet, insisting that her brother and his wife ‘were getting along quite well.’
Instead, she said his family believed he had some kind of psychotic break, despite having no history of mental illness.
‘We think something must have happened in his head. He wasn’t in his right mind to have done this,’ she said.
A passenger in a cabin near the Giglers said the family was staying on the second deck, meaning he climbed nine decks to jump.
Gigler (far right) with his mother Diana (top) brother Adam (center) and sister Wendy Dowden (second from right). Dowden insisted her brother’s marriage was in good shape and said his family believed he had some kind of psychotic break
The Panorama (stock photo) left Long Beach on September 13 for a weeklong voyage along the Mexican riviera and arrived back on Sunday morning
Shellshocked passengers assembled a tribute to Gigler with well-wishes for his family written on Carnival shopping bags.
Alongside the tributes were dozens of duck figurines, which are often exchanged by passengers through ‘Duck Mail’ boxes on their doors.
Carnival said in a statement that a man jumped while the ship was sailing from Puerto Vallarta in Mexico to port in Long Beach in Los Angeles.
‘When notified of a missing guest, the ship’s team initiated search and investigation procedures, including reviewing CCTV footage and notifying both the US and Mexico Coast Guards,’ it said.
The Coast Guard said it did aerial searches of the area and the Mexican Navy and nearby commercial vessels also looked for him.
Carnival said Gigler’s family was offered support.
The Panorama left Long Beach on September 13 for a week-long voyage along the Mexican Riviera and arrived back on Sunday morning.
For help and support contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988.
