By: Quinn Hathaway

National/World Editor

On Mar. 6, a University of Pittsburgh student went missing on vacation in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Sudiksha Konanki, 20, originally went to Punta Cana for spring break with five friends and went missing on the beach of Riu República Hotel at around 4:15 AM.

In addition to the Dominican investigative forces, US officials are also involved in the search, along with support from India. Konanki is a citizen of India, but a permanent resident of Virginia. The Dominican police conducted repeated interviews with a man identified as a “person of interest”. Local officials interviewed Joshua Riibe, 22, regarding his time on the beach with Konanki, and discovered that the pair was, according to Riibe, swept out by a wave and struggling for their lives. 

Riibe, a trained lifeguard, reported “trying to get [Konanki] to breathe the whole time. That didn’t allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water. I could have lost consciousness several times. When I finally reached the ground on the beach, I held her in front of me.”

Investigators and officials have not yet named the man a suspect. Riibe is currently being “detained under irregular conditions”, and cooperating with numerous interviews. Riibe’s family expresses remorse for Konanki’s situation, stating in an interview that “above all, we wish to contribute to the search efforts and understand the anguish and uncertainty they are going through and we share the hope that Sudiksha will be found as soon as possible.” Tina and Albert Riibe, Joshua’s parents, also stated “Our only interest is that due process be respected and that actions be taken with the fairness that the situation requires.”

Surveillance footage released shows six women, including Konanki, and two men drinking in the lobby, then heading out to the beach at around 3 AM. Around 4:55 AM, the five other women and one of the men came back to the hotel, with Konanki and the other man staying on the beach, and at 8:55 A.M, the other man returned, without Konanki in sight. 

As part of the search efforts, Dominican police have enlisted detection dogs, drones, helicopters, and other methods to find Konanki. A Civil Defense spokesman stated, “The search is underway at sea because it’s presumed she drowned. According to the boy who was with her, the waves swept her away, but that is under police investigation.”

Konanki’s parents expressed frustration, with her father saying in an interview, “It’s four days, and if she was in water, she would likely have been strewn to shore. She’s not found, so we’re asking them to investigate multiple options, like kidnapping or abduction.” Her father also described her as ambitious and in pursuit of a career in medicine, and in Punta Cana for “a nice break.”

(Sources: AP News, CBS, CNN)