While on a spring break trip with her friends in early March, Sudiksha Konanki, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, went missing in Punta Cana. International authorities have launched an investigation, searching the ocean where she was reportedly swept away. Nearly two weeks after Konanki’s disappearance, her parents believed that she had drowned and asked authorities to declare her dead.
A college student at Minnesota University named Joshua Riibe was last seen with her around 4:15 a.m., right before her disappearance. According to Riibe, the two were swept into the ocean by a wave. He told the investigators that he carried Konanki back to shallow water, but he was unsure where she went after she was rescued. Riibe eventually vomited and passed out on the beach.
Before she went missing, Konanki and five other girls were seen walking towards the beach. In the footage, they were also accompanied by Riibe and another American man. Konanki and Riibe stayed on the beach as the others returned to the hotel, which is when the wave pulled them. Initially, Riibe was a person of interest, but is now not considered a suspect.
At first, Konanki’s parents explored different possibilities of what could have happened to her. They supposed that, other than drowning, she may have been kidnapped. However, when Konanki’s parents declared her dead, they thought that this decision might help them move forward. According to usatoday.com, her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, reported, “This is incredibly difficult for us to process,” as her mother, Sreedevi Konanki, turned away from the cameras and sobbed.
For the most part, this case is still a mystery. Although no one may ever know what happened to Sudiksha Konanki, the authorities have respected the Konanki family’s declaration.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/2025/03/19/nx-s1-5332172/missing-student-dominican-republic-sudiksha-konanki
