Sister's heartbreaking theory as father jumps off cruise ship on 15th wedding anniversary
The sister of a man who jumped to his death while on a cruise to celebrate his 15th wedding anniversary believes he 'wasn't in his right mind' at the time.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that a 56-year-old man had been declared missing on a Carnival cruise ship sailing from Mexico to California, after cameras captured footage of a person going overboard.
The man was later identified as Thomas Gigler, a married father of three who was on board the ship with his wife Michelle to celebrate their 15th wedding anniversary.
According to various news reports, Thomas is understood to have jumped from the 11th deck of the ship and is now presumed to have died as a result.
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Following his identification, Thomas' sister Wendy Dowden has spoken to the media about her brother, rubbishing claims that he'd been going through marital issues prior to jumping overboard.
Hitting back at a claim made by a passenger who suggested he'd spoken to Thomas about marital issues the night before he jumped, Dowden told MailOnline the couple 'were getting along quite well'.
Sharing her thoughts on what she believes happened to her brother, Dowden added that she thinks Thomas may have suffered a 'psychotic break', adding: "We think something must have happened in his head. He wasn't in his right mind to have done this."
The couple, who reside in California, had booked the cruise to celebrate their relationship milestone, with their anniversary coming today, four days after he jumped overboard.
Thomas had worked for software firm Esri for 24 years and shared three young children with Michelle, 48.
Surveillance footage showed Thomas Gigler going overboard
Michelle raised the alarm onboard after noticing that she couldn't locate her husband onboard.
Carnival cruise staff made several announcements calling for Thomas' whereabouts throughout the day, before ordering passengers back to their cabins so staff could conduct a shipwide search.
CCTV footage from the previous days was then reviewed, with one camera capturing the moment that Thomas had jumped from the ship.
The search was then handed over to the US and Mexican coast guards.
"Carnival Cruise Line confirmed Saturday that a male guest aboard Carnival Panorama jumped overboard while the ship was sailing from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Long Beach, California," the company said in a statement.
When notified of a missing guest, the ship’s team initiated search and investigation procedures, including reviewing CCTV footage and notifying both the US and Mexico Coast Guards."
Sharing condolences for the Gigler family, the cruise line added: "Carnival is providing support to the family who was travelling with the guest, and our thoughts and prayers are with them and their loved ones."
Topics: World News, Cruise Ship
Brenna Cooper