Sudiksha Konanki, the Indian student who went missing from the Dominican Republic, was last seen walking with friends hours before she mysteriously vanished from a beach on the Caribbean island.
Newly released surveillance footage, first reported by Dominican news outlet Noticias SIN, captures the 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student’s final moments before her disappearance. The timestamp on the video reads “Thursday 5:16,” – the day she disappeared. It remains unclear whether it refers to the morning or evening.
In the clip, Ms Konanki is seen walking with an unidentified man, their arms around each other’s backs, as they stroll along a resort pathway at the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana, accompanied by other friends. The video shows the student wearing a white t-shirt and shorts and her hair tied in a ponytail.
Ms Konanki travelled to the Dominican Republic with five friends for a vacation. On Thursday, the night of her disappearance, the group partied at a resort disco until 3 am before heading to the beach an hour later. By 5:50 am, most of her friends had left, leaving her alone with Joshua Steven Ribe, a 24-year-old tourist from Iowa, who is believed to be the last person to see her.
Mr Ribe, now a key witness, has changed his statement thrice. In one account, he claimed he vomited from rough waves, left the water, and checked if Ms Konanki was okay. In another, he said he felt sick, exited the surf, and last saw her in knee-deep water before passing out. In a third version, he said he saw her walking along the shore before falling asleep.
By the time Mr Ribe woke up, Ms Konanki had vanished. Local reports suggest she was last seen swimming in the ocean wearing a brown bikini, with her clothes left on a beachside chaise lounge.
As the search for the 20-year-old enters its sixth day, authorities suspect she may have drowned, but her family suspects she was kidnapped.