Man 'jumps off' cruise ship during wedding anniversary trip with wife as his family speak out
A husband and dad-of-three is believed to have jumped off a Carnival cruise ship during a wedding anniversary trip with his wife, leaving his family searching for answers.
Thomas Gigler, 56, and his partner Michelle, 48, were sailing with their sons when he allegedly exited the Carnival Panorama’s 11th deck on September 19.
The family had been out at sea for six days at the time, and they were reportedly sailing from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Long Beach, California.
The trip coincided with the couple’s 15th wedding anniversary, which was due to take place days after he went missing (September 23).
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According to the US Sun, when Michelle was unable to find Gigler, she asked onboard employees to page him.
However, despite his name being called out along the ship’s public address system, staff ultimately decided to send passengers to their rooms at 3:30pm so they could conduct a thorough onboard search.
When he didn’t turn up, staff combed through hours of security footage, and saw what appeared to be a moment he allegedly jumped overboard when the ship was just off the coast of Baja California.
At that point, the local authorities were tasked with searching for the father, with the US and Mexican Coast Guard involved in the efforts.
Gigler, a computer programmer, has since been spoken about by his family, who want answers.
His sister Wendy Dowden claimed he didn’t take his life, despite it being the working theory, as she told the Daily Mail: “We think something must have happened in his head. He wasn’t in his right mind to have done this.”
A Carnival Cruise spokesperson has also spoken to the California Post of the efforts its staff took to find Gigler.
“Carnival Cruise Line confirmed Saturday that a male guest aboard Carnival Panorama jumped overboard while the ship was sailing from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Long Beach, California,” the company said.
“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,” the spokesperson added.
Passengers have also spoken about how the cruise line handled the situation and kept those onboard in the loop, with one person telling The Independent: "The captain made a statement they needed everyone to their staterooms so the crew could search the decks and do accountability checks room-to-room, scanning all sail and sign cards."
He added: "When they did their door-to-door, they stated that they didn't have any other info and the captain would guide us over the intercom system.”
In the wake of the news, he went on to share that passengers created a memorial for Gigler and his family using ducks.
“The ducks are a cruise passenger thing. People bring little ducks and place them all over the ship, kind of hide them, for others to find,” he explained.
“People will have ducks made with their names, cruise dates, ship name, hometown, etc.”
UNILAD reached out to Carnival Cruise for comment.
Topics: Cruise ship, Travel, Mexico, California
Britt Jones