Coast Guard Suspends Search for Carnival Cruise Passenger Lost at Sea
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a Southern California father of three who went overboard from the Carnival Panorama as the ship sailed home to Long Beach from Mexico, just days before he and his wife were set to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary.
The passenger has been identified as Thomas Gigler, a 56-year-old computer programmer from Redlands. He was traveling aboard the ship with his wife, Michelle, 48, and the couple's three sons, ages 13, 11 and 9. The couple's anniversary would have been Wednesday, Sept. 23.
What Happened Aboard the Carnival Panorama
The Panorama left Long Beach on Sept. 13 for a seven-night voyage to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Gigler went missing on the return leg, on the final day of the trip.
According to the Coast Guard, Gigler was last seen at approximately 11:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18. The next morning, his wife could not find him and asked guest services to page him around 10:30 a.m., according to Cruise Fever. Announcements calling for Gigler over the ship's public address system began around 11 a.m. and continued for hours before guests were told to return to their staterooms for a headcount.
The crew reviewed surveillance footage, which confirmed Gigler had gone overboard, and notified U.S. and Mexican authorities. The ship turned around at about 2 p.m. to search the surrounding waters before resuming its course toward Long Beach at roughly 4:30 p.m.
A video posted to Facebook by another passenger captured one of the onboard updates. "We have yet to locate the missing guest," a cruise official appears to say in the clip.
The Panorama completed its voyage and returned to Long Beach on Sunday.
Coast Guard Calls Off Search After 41 Hours
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach received the initial missing person report at approximately 1:30 p.m. Saturday. The Coast Guard's Rescue Coordination Center Alameda then took over coordination and launched multiple fixed-wing aircraft. A Mexican Navy boat and six good Samaritan vessels joined the effort, with support from Mexico's maritime rescue coordination center and the AMVER vessel assistance system.
On Tuesday, Sept. 22, the Coast Guard suspended the search pending new information. Crews had spent more than 41 hours covering more than 1,707 square miles, about 57 miles off the Mexican coast, without any sighting of Gigler.
"Decisions to suspend search operations are never easy," Capt. Jessica Davila, chief of incident management for the Coast Guard Southwest District, said in a statement. Davila also extended condolences to Gigler's family and loved ones.
Family Searching for Answers
Gigler spent his entire 24-year career as a computer programmer with the software firm Esri. He and his wife lived with their three sons in Redlands, east of Los Angeles.
His family has said they are struggling to understand what happened. Relatives said Gigler had no known history of mental illness, and they believe something unexpected occurred before he went overboard.
"We think something must have happened in his head," his sister, Wendy Dowden, told the Daily Mail.
Neither Carnival nor authorities have publicly said why Gigler went overboard, and the circumstances remain under investigation.
Carnival Offers Support to the Family
Carnival said the ship's team began search and investigation procedures as soon as Gigler was reported missing, including reviewing CCTV footage and notifying both the U.S. and Mexican coast guards.
"Carnival is providing support to the family who was traveling with the guest," the cruise line said, adding that its thoughts and prayers are with the family and their loved ones.
For the Gigler family, the loss comes on what should have been a milestone week. The trip was meant to mark 15 years of marriage, and the anniversary date arrived one day after the Coast Guard called off its search.
Anyone struggling with thoughts of suicide can call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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