Search for Sudiksha Konanki: INTERPOL issues global alert for missing Pittsburgh student who disappeared in Punta Cana on spring break

Yahoo

15-03-2025

It has been over a week since Sudiksha Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh student, disappeared while on a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic, prompting a widespread search from both U.S. and local authorities by land, air and water. The International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) has issued a yellow notice, a worldwide police alert for a missing person, which will notify authorities if Konanki travels to another country.
Dominican Authorities said Thursday that they were moving the search from the Hotel Riu Republica Resort, where Konanki was staying, to Macao Beach. Officials at the resort say water conditions were potentially dangerous on the day of her disappearance.
The pre-med student was last seen on video surveillance footage on Thursday, March 6, entering the beach before dawn, according to Dominican Republic National Police. Dominican media outlet Noticias SIN obtained surveillance video that appears to show Konanki with her friends and two other men.
One of the men, Joshua Riibe, 24, was the last person believed to be with Konanki on the beach near the resort before she vanished. He has been questioned by authorities about her disappearance, reportedly giving conflicting accounts about his final moments on the beach with her. He has been identified as a "person of interest," the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said. Authorities also said it is not a criminal case at this time.
"There has been considerable public speculation about what may have happened to Konanki and who may be involved," the sheriff's office, which is located in Konanki's hometown, said in a statement. "We caution anyone from drawing any unsubstantiated conclusions and are committed to ensuring that a thorough investigation is conducted before any conclusions are reached."
Riibe's friends told the Daily Mail they are in "total shock" that he's been named a person of interest, while his aunt says he "wouldn't hurt a fly."
Meanwhile, the Hotel Riu Republica, where Konanki was a guest, told People that a "red flag was placed on the beach" around the time that she vanished. The resort says the red flag provides a warning that "the sea had a strong current and very high waves."
Here's what else we know.
Missing person posters describe Konanki as 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a brown bikini, big round earrings, a metal designer anklet on her right leg, yellow and steel bracelets on her right hand and a multicolored beaded bracelet on her left hand.
March 3: Konanki arrived in the Dominican Republic with five friends. They were all staying at the Hotel Riu Republica in Punta Cana.
March 5: Konanki told her friends that she was going to a party at the resort, her father told CNN.
March 6:
4:15 a.m. local time: Konanki and her friends were seen on video surveillance footage entering the beach area of the resort, police said.
Around 6 a.m.: Surveillance cameras captured five women and one man leaving the beach. Konanki is believed to have stayed behind with a young man, CNN reported, citing a local police source.
9:55 a.m.: That same police source said the man was leaving the beach, with no apparent sign of Konanki.
4 p.m.: Konanki's friends reported her missing, since it had been 12 hours since she was last seen, the Riu hotel chain said in a statement. The sheriff's office in Loudoun County, Va., where she and her family live, was notified of Konanki's disappearance.
March 7: Police in the Dominican Republic learned of her disappearance after 8 a.m. in a call from the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Sunday that it is working closely with authorities from the State Department, FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations and the University of Pittsburgh police "in support of the ongoing investigation by the Dominican National Police."
Konanki is a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States, and the Indian Embassy in the Dominican Republic is helping in the investigation.
The hotel where Konanki is staying is also supporting the search efforts. "From the moment her absence was reported, we have been working closely with the local authorities, including the police and the navy, to conduct a thorough search," the hotel said. "We would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. … We are fully committed to doing everything in our power to assist in this situation."
The public prosecutor's office is interviewing Konanki's friends, NBC News reported. The young man believed to have been on the beach with Konanki on early March 6 has been interviewed by authorities to discuss what happened when the two were allegedly alone and to corroborate his story.
Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman said authorities are combing through security footage and cellphone data for any sign of Konanki.
"We have certainly experts here within the U.S. that will look into all aspects of her phone, her friends' phones, anybody that she might have been with, to see exactly what may have happened there," Chapman said.