Authorities have named 24-year-old Joshua Riibe as a person of interest in the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki, the 20-year-old Indian student who went missing in the Dominican Republic. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia confirmed Mr Riibe’s status as a person of interest but added the case remained a missing persons investigation, not a criminal one.
“This particular individual may have been the last one to have seen her, so it is of particular interest,” spokesperson Chad Quinn told USA Today.
Ms Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh student from Virginia, was last seen on a beach in Punta Cana in the early hours of Thursday, March 6. She had travelled with five friends for a vacation. Joshua Riibe, who was not part of Ms Konanki’s original travel group, met them at the resort town.
On the night of her disappearance, Ms Konanki and her group partied at a resort disco until 3 am. They headed to the beach an hour later. Surveillance footage captured the group arriving at the beach around 4:15 am Thursday.
By 5:50 am, most of her friends had left, leaving Ms Konanki alone with Mr Riibe. Hours later, Mr Riibe was seen alone, and Ms Konanki has not been found since, a police spokesperson said.
Mr Riibe, a senior at St Cloud State University in Minnesota, has reportedly provided conflicting statements to authorities. In one version, he said he left the water after feeling sick and last saw Ms Konanki in knee-deep water. In another, he claimed he saw her walking along the shore before he passed out. In a third account, he said he vomited in the water and checked if Ms Konanki was okay.
Dominican authorities, with support from the FBI, continue their search. “We have expanded the investigation: more personnel, more equipment, the Attorney General’s office, interviews, and are reviewing security camera footage,” a spokesperson for La Policia Nacional told Fox News.
Authorities confirmed that Ms Konanki was last seen swimming in the ocean wearing a brown bikini. Her clothes were found neatly folded on a beachside chaise lounge. Footage showed Ms Konanki walking alongside a man, arm around each other, as the group walked towards the beach. This was the last time she was seen before disappearing.
The Hotel Riu Republica, where Ms Konanki was staying, reportedly also experienced a 25-hour power outage before her disappearance. The hotel said that electricity was fully restored before she was last seen. Security cameras at the resort were operational and captured Ms Konanki leaving the hotel bar with her friends.
It’s been a week since Sudiksha Konanki was last seen, and there are still few definitive leads on her whereabouts. The Dominican Republic National Police has assembled a special task force, collaborating with the General Prosecutor’s Office, the FBI, and the US Embassy’s international liaison to handle the investigation.
The Loudoun County detectives are travelling to the Dominican Republic to help with the case under the FBI’s guidance.