A California father of three may have climbed roughly nine decks through a massive Carnival cruise ship before going overboard during what was supposed to be a romantic anniversary trip with his wife.
New details are now emerging about the final hours of Thomas Gigler, 56, who disappeared from the Carnival Panorama as it sailed from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, back toward Long Beach, California.
Gigler was traveling with his wife, Michelle, and their three sons while the couple celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary.
What happened next has left his family with painful questions.
According to a passenger who said they were staying near the Gigler family, their cabin was on the ship’s second deck.
Gigler is believed to have gone overboard from around the 11th deck.
If that account is accurate, it means the father may have traveled roughly nine floors through the ship before reaching the area where he disappeared.
The 11th deck is home to a mixture of passenger cabins, spa accommodations, restaurants and family attractions.
Exactly how Gigler reached that part of the ship, what he did in the minutes beforehand and why he went there remain unclear.
The mystery only deepened aboard the Panorama Saturday afternoon.
Passenger Lorrie Freed-Silva said she was inside her cabin at around 4:30 p.m. when a sudden announcement instructed everyone on the ship to return to their rooms.
At first, crew members did not explain why.
Passengers were simply told that a count needed to be conducted.
The message was repeated several times.
Freed-Silva said two people she believed were officers later arrived at her cabin and personally asked for the names of everyone inside.
About 45 minutes later came a more alarming announcement.
A passenger was missing.
Then, approximately 15 minutes after that, passengers reportedly learned the disturbing reason for the emergency.
A man had gone overboard, and surveillance footage had confirmed it.
The Panorama turned around as crews began searching the surrounding waters.
Carnival later confirmed that its team launched missing-person and search procedures, reviewed CCTV footage and alerted U.S. and Mexican authorities.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Mexican Navy and nearby commercial vessels joined the massive operation.
But no trace of Gigler was found.
The Coast Guard ultimately suspended the search after more than 41 hours, during which aircraft and vessels covered more than 1,707 square miles of ocean.
Gigler remains missing and is presumed dead.
Another haunting moment aboard the ship came as passengers waited for news.
Video shared online showed a cruise official addressing guests while the search was still underway.
The official said crews had not yet located the missing passenger and that authorities had been notified.
Passengers later created a small memorial aboard the ship.
Handwritten notes, prayers, teddy bears, rubber ducks and other tributes were left for Gigler and his family.
One passenger described the scene as a quiet moment in which strangers came together for a family facing “an unimaginable loss.”
The details are especially heartbreaking because Gigler had boarded the cruise with his family for what should have been a celebration.
The Redlands father had worked as a computer programmer for Esri for 24 years.
His wife, Michelle, was traveling with him and their three sons.
Gigler’s family has also pushed back against speculation that marital problems may have played a role.
His sister, Wendy Dowden, said Thomas and Michelle had been “getting along quite well.”
She previously said the family believes something may have suddenly changed in her brother’s state of mind.
“We think something must have happened in his head,” Dowden said.
“He wasn’t in his right mind to have done this.”
There has been no medical finding establishing that Gigler suffered a mental-health crisis, and authorities have not publicly explained what led up to him going overboard.
For his family, that leaves perhaps the most painful question of all unanswered.
Why did a father on an anniversary cruise leave his cabin area, apparently make his way high into the ship, and end up overboard in the Pacific?
For now, only fragments of his final hours have emerged.
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