A passenger who went overboard from a Carnival cruise ship bound for Southern California has been identified as a 56-year-old father of three who was traveling on an anniversary trip with his wife.

Thomas Gigler was sailing aboard the Carnival Panorama with his wife, Michelle, 48, when he is believed to have gone overboard Saturday. The California computer programmer, who spent 24 years working for Esri, is thought to have left the 11th deck as the ship traveled from Mexico toward Long Beach.

His family raised the alarm after he could not be found. Authorities continued searching for Gigler, who is presumed dead. The U.S. and Mexican Coast Guards searched the area, with aerial support from the Coast Guard and additional help from the Mexican Navy and nearby commercial vessels.

Gigler’s sister, Wendy Dowden, rejected a fellow passenger’s claim that he had spoken about marital problems at the ship’s Alchemy Bar the night before he disappeared. She said her brother and Michelle “were getting along quite well.” The family believes something unexpected may have happened 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,” Dowden said. Relatives said Gigler had no known history of mental illness. The couple lived with their three sons in Redlands, California.

A video shared by another passenger captured a ship announcement that the missing guest had not been located and that fleet operations in Miami and authorities had been notified. Passengers also created a small memorial with handwritten messages and prayers for the family.

Source: New York Post reporting, Sept. 22, 2026.