US3 min(s) read
Days after a father of three jumped to his death from a cruise ship, his sister has revealed that she believes he 'wasn’t in his right mind' when he made the fateful leap.
Thomas Gigler, 56, was declared missing on a Carnival cruise ship sailing from Mexico to California, after cameras captured footage of a person going overboard.
The dad was on the cruise to celebrate his 15th wedding anniversary with his wife Michelle when he is understood to have jumped from the 11th deck of the liner and is presumed to have died as a result of his injuries.
Since being publicly named, Thomas’ sister Wendy Dowden has spoken out to combat rumours that he'd been going through marital issues before jumping to his death.
Despite claims from a fellow passenger that Thomas had opened up about his marital problems the night before he ended his life, Wendy told MailOnline that the couple 'were getting along quite well'.
Providing insight into what their family believes happened to her brother, Dowden said she thinks Thomas may have suffered a 'psychotic break'.
She added: "We think something must have happened in his head. He wasn't in his right mind to have done this."
The Californian couple had booked the cruise to celebrate 15 years of marriage.
Thomas and Michelle shared three young children.
After being unable to find her husband for a few hours, Michelle raised the alarm.
The cruise ship staff then made several announcements calling for Thomas' whereabouts throughout the day. They then ordered passengers to return to their cabins to allow staff to conduct a shipwide search.
Eventually, CCTV footage from the previous days was reviewed, with one camera capturing the tragic moment that Thomas jumped from the ship.
The US and Mexican coast guards were alerted immediately and tasked with conducting the search for Thomas.
In a formal statement, the company said: "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."
Adding condolences for the Gigler family, the company also said: “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."
