A College of Pittsburgh pupil’s disappearance has sparked nationwide concern for faculty spring breakers. Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old, went lacking in early March 2025 whereas having fun with a visit to Punta Cana within the Dominican Republic. Now that her household has spoken out, authorities are looking by air, land and sea for Konanki.
Beneath, get updates on Konanki’s disappearance.
When Was the Lacking Faculty Pupil Final Seen in Punta Cana?
In line with CNN, Konanki was final seen on surveillance footage at round 4:15 a.m. native time on March 6. She was noticed with seven different folks getting into the seaside by the Riu República Resort. Her disappearance was reported to Dominican Nationwide Police the next day, March 7, by a name by the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo.
She was seen with Joshua Steven Riibe, a 22-year-old American who isn’t thought of a suspect within the case and has not been accused of any wrongdoing, together with buddies within the footage.
An pressing search is underway for lacking American pupil Sudiksha Konanki, who vanished close to a seaside resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic whereas on spring break with buddies. @eriellereshef studies. pic.twitter.com/SWJCp9KMO5
— Good Morning America (@GMA) March 10, 2025
Who Is Sudiksha Konanki?
Konanki, a pre-med pupil on the College of Pittsburgh, arrived in Punta Cana together with her buddies on March 3. Her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, spoke out about his daughter in a public assertion, per CNN.
“My daughter is a really good woman,” he mentioned. “She’s formidable. She needed to pursue a profession in medication.”
Konanki’s household is initially from India and has lived within the U.S. since 2006. They’re everlasting residents and dwell in Virginia.
What Occurred to Sudiksha Konanki?
Per Konanki’s father, she “went to the seaside on March 6 early morning round 4 a.m. with buddies and another guys they met on the resort. After that, her buddies got here again after a while and my daughter didn’t come again, didn’t present up from the seaside.”
“Up to now, the authorities, a number of authorities right here within the Dominican Republic have searched within the waters,” he added, in accordance with CNN. “They searched utilizing helicopters and different instruments. In addition they searched within the close to bay, bushes, timber. They went a number of instances across the similar areas.”
A neighborhood police supply informed the outlet that surveillance footage captured 5 ladies and one man leaving the seaside on the Riu República Resort at 5:55 a.m., and Konanki was believed to have stayed on the seaside with one other younger man. At 9:55 a.m., the younger man was captured leaving the seaside in later surveillance video, however Konanki was nowhere to be seen. Konanki’s father inspired police to research whether or not his daughter’s disappearance is a kidnapping or a case of human trafficking, he informed CNN.
However now, new info has emerged about Konanki getting caught within the ocean and struggling to make it again to the seaside.
Who Is Joshua Riibe?
Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud State College in Minnesota majoring in land surveying and mapping sciences, is from Rock Rapids, Iowa, in accordance with a college spokesperson.
In line with PEOPLE, Riibe was first named an individual of curiosity in Konanki’s disappearance. A spokesperson from the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Workplace informed the publication that no fees have been filed towards Riibe, however he was “an individual of curiosity in what continues to be a lacking individual investigation.”
In his fourth interview with prosecutors on March 12, Riibe described how he and Konanki have been on the seaside when an intense wave swept them out to sea. He recounted struggling to save lots of Konanki whereas additionally combating exhaustion himself.
“It took me a very long time to get her out. It was troublesome,” Riibe mentioned, in accordance with Dominican information company Noticias SIN. He defined that though he was educated as a lifeguard, he had solely labored at swimming pools, not on the seaside.
“I used to be attempting to get her to breathe the entire time. That didn’t permit me to breathe on a regular basis, and I swallowed a number of water. I might have misplaced consciousness a number of instances. Once I lastly reached the bottom on the seaside, I held her in entrance of me.”
Riibe went on to explain the ultimate moments he spent with Konanki, saying, “The final time I noticed her, I requested if she was OK. I didn’t hear her reply as a result of I began vomiting up all of the seawater I had swallowed. After vomiting, I appeared round, and I didn’t see anybody. I believed she had grabbed her issues and left. I felt very sick and drained. I lay down on a seaside chair and fell asleep as a result of I couldn’t go far.”
Riibe has been cooperating with regulation enforcement, however his mother and father said that he was detained “underneath irregular circumstances” and questioned with out official translators or authorized counsel till March 12. He has remained underneath police surveillance in his resort room and has been taken to the police station for a number of interrogations. Because of this, his household has employed a lawyer “to provoke authorized actions making certain his security and the safety of his rights.”
