California Father of Three Vanishes From Anniversary Cruise as Family Challenges Claim About His Final Night

A Southern California father of three disappeared from a cruise ship while celebrating his anniversary with his wife — and conflicting accounts about a conversation he allegedly had just hours earlier have left his family searching for answers.

Thomas Gigler, 56, of Redlands, was aboard the Carnival Panorama with his wife, Michelle, 48, when he went overboard on Saturday as the ship traveled from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, toward Long Beach, California.

Gigler, a computer programmer who had worked for Esri for 24 years, is believed to have gone overboard from the ship’s 11th deck. He remains missing and is presumed dead.

Family Raised Alarm After Gigler Disappeared

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.Facebook/Michelle Gigler

Gigler’s family became concerned when they could no longer locate him aboard the ship.

Carnival said its crew immediately began missing-person procedures, including reviewing surveillance footage and contacting authorities in both the United States and Mexico.

The CCTV review ultimately showed Gigler going overboard.

At approximately 2 p.m., the Carnival Panorama turned around and began searching the surrounding waters. The U.S. and Mexican Coast Guards were involved in the response, along with the Mexican Navy and nearby commercial vessels.

After searching the area, the ship resumed its journey toward Long Beach at approximately 4:30 p.m.

A passenger later shared video of an onboard announcement informing guests that the missing passenger had still not been located and that authorities had been notified.

A Conversation From the Night Before Draws Attention

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.AFP via Getty Images

As Gigler’s family tried to understand what could have happened, attention turned to an alleged encounter at the ship’s Alchemy Bar on the night before his disappearance.

A fellow passenger reportedly claimed Gigler had spoken about problems in his marriage during their conversation.

But Gigler’s sister, Wendy Dowden, strongly pushed back against the suggestion that marital difficulties could explain what happened.

She said her brother and Michelle “were getting along quite well.”

Gigler and his wife were reportedly aboard the cruise to mark their anniversary, making the suggestion particularly painful for relatives now trying to piece together his final hours.

Family Says His Actions Were Out of Character

Rather than believing a troubled marriage was behind her brother’s disappearance, Dowden said the family suspects something unexpected may have happened to him mentally 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,” she said.

According to the family, Gigler had no known history of mental illness.

That has left relatives with few answers about what could have changed in the hours before the surveillance footage captured him going overboard.

Search Ends Without Finding Missing Father

Gigler lived in Redlands, roughly 63 miles east of Los Angeles, with his wife and their three sons.

The search for him involved multiple agencies and vessels, but he was not located before the Carnival Panorama continued toward Southern California.

For his family, the unresolved question now centers on what happened