Missing American college student seen in new hotel security footage before disappearance
Missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki is seen in recently released security camera footage obtained by local news from the hotel where she was staying in the Dominican Republic before she vanished.
Konanki, 20, was last seen on the beach with a witness identified as 22-year-old Joshua Riibe of Iowa around 4:50 a.m. on March 6. The pair had been out drinking with friends at the RIU Republica in Punta Cana before Riibe said they went for a swim during a red-flag warning.
The footage obtained by Noticias SIN from a hotel bar shows Konanki and Riibe drinking before the Pitt student vanished. No suspects have been named in connection with her disappearance, and Riibe has only been identified as a witness and has not been accused of any crime.
Konanki can be seen wearing the white, sorong-style dress that authorities found on a beach chair after she vanished.
Other footage obtained by Noticias SIN from the RIU Republica lobby shows Konanki with her friends before her disappearance.
Konanki and Riibe were both staying at the RIU Republica on separate trips to Punta Cana. Riibe had arrived with a friend on March 1, and Konanki had arrived with five friends from Pitt on March 3.
Around 4:15 a.m. on March 6, Konanki was part of a group of six women and two men, including Riibe, seen on surveillance video approaching the beach. Six of them came back around 6 a.m., leaving Konanki alone on the beach with Riibe. He came back alone around 10 a.m.
He sat with police for multiple interviews, including one Wednesday that is recorded on a transcript obtained by Fox News.
According to the document, Riibe said he and Konanki were talking in the water when a "big wave" hit them, the transcript reads. There was a red-flag warning on the beach at the time, indicating a warning for people not to go swimming in rough surf.
"[W]ith the water's pullback, it dragged us further into the sea," he said. "As soon as we surfaced, we tried to call for help, but no one was there."
Riibe is a former pool lifeguard. He said he struggled to pull Konanki ashore, according to the transcript. Once they were on their feet, he said she walked away to get her belongings and he threw up and passed out. He told police she was walking in knee-deep water when he last saw her.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office in Virginia said it could not validate Wednesday's transcript but that it was consistent with what Riibe told two Loudoun detectives sent down to assist in the investigation.
"Mr. Riibe is not a suspect in any way shape or form," a spokesperson told Fox News Digital, adding that the Dominican Republic is leading the investigation.
Riibe's lawyer, Beatriz Santana, declined to comment on the case or her client's interviews with police. Riibe's parents issued a statement through their attorney on Friday taking issue with Dominican authorities' handling of the case.
"Despite his full willingness to cooperate, Josh has been detained under irregular conditions and subjected to extensive questioning without the presence of official translators or legal counsel until Wednesday, March 12," his parents, Albert and Tina Riibe, said through their attorneys.
His parents said the 22-year-old "has remained in his hotel room under police surveillance and has been repeatedly taken to the police station since March 6, where he has been interrogated for long hours."
"This situation has raised serious concern within his family, which has led us to retain legal counsel to initiate legal actions ensuring his safety and the protection of his rights throughout this process," they said.
The family said they were willing to continue cooperating with search efforts and wanted to share their "deep sorrow and solidarity" with Konanki's family.
"Above all, we wish to contribute to the search efforts and understand the anguish and uncertainty they are going through and we share the hope that Sudiksha will be found as soon as possible," they said. "Joshua Riibe is deeply dismayed by her disappearance and has fully cooperated in the search and clarification of the facts from the very beginning."
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