Authorities in the Dominican Republic have ramped up efforts to locate Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student who disappeared in Punta Cana before dawn on March 6. Officials are focusing on the waters near the beach where she was last seen, fearing she may have drowned.
Joshua Riibe, a Minnesota college student who was reportedly the last person with Konanki, has not been labeled a suspect but remains a key figure in the investigation. On Sunday, Riibe and his attorney met with authorities at the beach where she vanished.
According to a transcript of his interview with Dominican prosecutors—reported by multiple media outlets—Riibe stated that he and Konanki had been drinking together and waded into waist-deep water, where they began kissing. He described being caught in a powerful current but said he was able to swim them both back to shore. After vomiting on the beach, he claimed Konanki told him she was retrieving her belongings. When he looked up again, she was gone.
Riibe’s parents, Albert and Tine Riibe, have expressed concern over his treatment by Dominican authorities, accusing them of detaining him under improper conditions. They claim he has been held in a hotel room under police watch for over a week, subjected to repeated questioning without legal representation or translators. They insist their son has been fully cooperative throughout the process.
Dominican officials have yet to respond to the family’s allegations. Meanwhile, the FBI has also joined the investigation into Konanki’s disappearance.
