A passenger who went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship off the coast of Mexico has been identified as a 56-year-old father-of-three who was reportedly travelling with his wife to celebrate their wedding anniversary.
Thomas Gigler, from Southern California, disappeared from the Carnival Panorama on Saturday during the final day of a seven-night cruise along Mexico’s Baja peninsula.
Gigler was reportedly travelling with his wife Michelle, 48, ahead of their 15th wedding anniversary.
The couple lived in Redlands, east of Los Angeles, with their three sons, aged nine, 11 and 13.
Gigler worked as a computer programmer for Esri and had been with the company for a number of years.
His family raised the alarm after discovering he was missing from the ship.
Carnival Cruise Line later said CCTV footage showed the male passenger went overboard while the Panorama was sailing from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Long Beach, California.
His sister, Wendy Dowden, said the family had been left struggling to understand what happened.
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.”
Gigler has not been found.
Passengers ordered back to cabins during search
Passenger Tommy McGraw, 55, from Kentucky, said those on board were instructed to return to their cabins while crew members searched the ship and carried out checks.
McGraw said passengers initially received no information about the missing guest’s identity and were told only that a family had reported a loved one missing.
Passengers remained in their cabins for around two hours while crew searched decks and carried out room-to-room accountability checks using passengers’ cruise cards.
McGraw said: “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.”
After CCTV was reviewed, the captain reportedly informed passengers that a guest had gone overboard.
The ship subsequently continued its journey towards California.
Passengers later created a makeshift memorial using the small toy ducks that cruise guests traditionally hide around ships for others to discover.
Carnival supporting family
Carnival Cruise Line confirmed that a male guest aboard Carnival Panorama had gone overboard while the vessel was travelling between Puerto Vallarta and Long Beach.
A spokesperson said: “When notified of a missing guest, the ship’s team initiated search and investigation procedures, including reviewing CCTV footage and notifying both the U.S. and Mexico Coast Guards.”
Carnival said support was being provided to the man’s family, who were travelling with him.
Gigler remained missing at the time of the latest update.
