American believed to be last person to see missing US student left the Dominican Republic
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — Joshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota who is believed to be the last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki in the Dominican Republic, left the Caribbean country on Wednesday, his lawyers said.
Following a trial exceeding five hours, Judge Edwin Rijo ruled Wednesday that Riibe, classified as a witness in a disappearance case, should have full rights under Dominican law and unrestricted freedom of movement.
It was not immediately clear where Riibe traveled after leaving the Dominican Republic.
According to a statement from Guzmán Ariza, Abogados Consultores, the law firm representing the Riibe family, the La Altagracia prosecutor's office offered to return Joshua's passport. 'While appreciating the offer, Joshua opted to obtain a new passport from the U.S. consulate for privacy reasons, which was expedited,' the law firm said.
Riibe had been detained by Dominican police, but on Tuesday judge Rijo ordered his release, saying he could cooperate with authorities without being detained. He was not named as a suspect.
According to the transcript of an interview with prosecutors, reported by Dominican media as well as NBC and Telemundo, Riibe told police he was drinking with Konanki on the beach and they were kissing in the ocean when they got caught in a current. Riibe said he was a former lifeguard and helped bring her ashore.
He told investigators he vomited upon reaching the beach and that Konanki said she was going to fetch her things. When he looked up, she was gone. He said he was later surprised to hear of her disappearance.
On Monday, Konanki's parents asked Dominican authorities to declare their daughter legally dead.
Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki said in a letter that after an extensive search, local authorities believe that Sudiksha, 20, drowned.
'Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence,' they wrote. 'While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.'
Michael Chapman, sheriff of Loudoun County in Virginia, where the Konankis live, said in a statement Tuesday that officials have been working with Dominican authorities and continue to review evidence in the case.
'The disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki is tragic, and we cannot imagine the grief her family has been feeling,' he said. 'Sudiksha's family has expressed their belief that she drowned. While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible.'
Sudiksha Konanki and five female friends had traveled to the Caribbean nation on March 3 for spring break. Police said she disappeared at a beach by her hotel before dawn on March 6.
Konanki was born in India and later became a U.S. permanent resident.
____
Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Czech court sentences Colombian to 8 years for arson attack which officials think is tied to Russia
PRAGUE (AP) — A court in the Czech capital sentenced a Colombian national to eight years in prison on Monday for an arson attack and planning another one, in a case which authorities believe may be linked to Russia. Prague's Municipal Court also ordered Andrés Alfonso de la Hoz de la Cruz to pay damages worth 115,000 koruna ($5,300). The court approved a plea agreement between prosecutors and the defendant, who pleaded guilty. The 26-year-old Colombian was arrested a year ago after setting ablaze three Prague public buses at a depot at night. The court said that he recorded what he did and left. Local workers managed to extinguish the fire. The court said the man received orders on the Telegram messaging app and was promised $3,000. He was also planning one more attack, possibly at a movie theater in Prague. Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala previously said the failed arson attack was likely part of Russia's hybrid war against his country. Czechia, which is more widely known in English as the Czech Republic, is a staunch supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Russia's full scale-invasion. Western officials have accused Russia and its proxies of staging dozens of attacks and other incidents across Europe since Moscow launched all-out war on Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, according to data collected by The Associated Press. They allege the disruption campaign is an extension of Russian President Vladimir Putin's war, intended to sow division in European societies and undermine support for Ukraine. ___ Follow the AP's coverage of the war at


The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
Ukraine says Russia launched the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the war
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia launched almost 500 drones at Ukraine in the biggest overnight drone bombardment of the three-year war, the Ukrainian air force said Monday, as the Kremlin presses its summer offensive amid direct peace talks that have yet to deliver progress on stopping the fighting. As well as 479 drones, 20 missiles of various types were fired at different parts of Ukraine, according to the air force, which said the barrage targeted mainly central and western areas of Ukraine. Ukraine's air force said its air defenses destroyed 277 drones and 19 missiles in mid-flight on Sunday night, claiming that only 10 drones or missiles hit their target. Officials said one person was injured. It was not possible to independently verify the claims. A recent escalation in aerial attacks has coincided with a renewed Russian battlefield push on eastern and northeastern parts of the roughly 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) front line. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said late Sunday that in some of those areas 'the situation is very difficult.' He provided no details. Ukraine is short-handed on the front line against its bigger enemy and needs further military support from its Western partners, especially air defenses. But uncertainty about the U.S. policy on the war has fueled doubts about how much help Kyiv can count on. Ukraine has produced some stunning counter-punches, however. Its recent drone attack on distant Russian air bases was unprecedented in its scope and sophistication. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed Monday that special operations forces struck two Russian fighter jets stationed at the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod region located some 650 kilometers northeast from the Ukrainian border. The statement did not say how the planes were hit. There was no immediate comment on the claim from the Russian authorities. Some Russian war bloggers said there was no damage to the warplanes. Russian officials have said the recent intensified assaults are part of a series of retaliations for Ukraine's strike on air bases that were hosting nuclear-capable strategic bombers. A strike on a Ukrainian air base in Dubno, in the western Rivne region, was one such response, the Russian Defense Ministry said Monday. Two recent rounds of direct peace talks between Russian and Ukrainian delegations in Istanbul have yielded no significant breakthroughs beyond pledges to swap prisoners as well as thousands of their dead and seriously wounded troops. Russian President Vladimir Putin has indicated he will keep fighting until his conditions are met. The exchange of hundreds of soldiers and civilians has been a small sign of cooperation in otherwise failed efforts to agree on a ceasefire. More prisoners were swapped Monday in a staggered process taking place over coming days, Zelenskyy and the Russian Defense Ministry announced, though neither side said how many. Those swapped included wounded and seriously wounded soldiers, as well as those under 25, Zelenskyy said. 'The process is quite complicated, there are many sensitive details, negotiations continue virtually every day,' he added. But the two sides have disagreed over the transfer of soldiers killed in action. The Russian Defense Ministry alleged that Ukraine over the weekend failed to pick up the bodies of its fallen soldiers that Russia made available for collection. But Zelenskyy claimed that Moscow hadn't sent to Kyiv the names of more than 1,000 Ukrainians whose bodies are currently in Russian-controlled territories, as had been agreed. He accused Russian authorities of playing 'dirty' games. Even so, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Monday the swap is expected to go ahead, although he said there were no specific arrangements so far for the transfer. Ukraine's intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said the exchange of soldiers' bodies will begin this week. Russia has repeatedly targeted civilian areas of Ukraine with Shahed drones during the war, as happened on Sunday night. The attacks have killed more that 12,000 Ukrainian civilians, according to the United Nations. Russia says it only attacks military targets. Ukraine has developed long-range drones that continue to strike deep inside Russia. Russia's Ministry of Defense said Monday that it shot down 49 Ukrainian drones overnight over seven Russian regions. Two drones hit a plant specializing in electronic warfare equipment in the Chuvashia region, located more than 600 kilometers (370 miles) east of Moscow, local officials reported. Alexander Gusev, head of Russia's Voronezh region, said that 25 drones had been shot down there overnight, damaging a gas pipeline and sparking a small fire. ___ Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine at

Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Australian reporter hit by nonlethal round during live report from LA immigration protests
NEWCASTLE, Australia (AP) — An Australian television journalist was hit in the leg by a nonlethal round Sunday while reporting live from downtown Los Angeles on the large-scale protests over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and subsequent deployment of California National Guard troops to the city. Video of the incident released by 9News shows correspondent Lauren Tomasi, microphone in hand, reporting live when an officer behind her suddenly raises their firearm and fires a nonlethal round at close range. Tomasi, who doesn't appear to be wearing personal protective equipment, cries out in pain and clutches her lower leg as she and her cameraman quickly move away from the police line. 'You just (expletive) shot the reporter,' a voice off-camera can be heard shouting. Tomasi assured her crew she was okay: 'Yeah, I'm good, I'm good.' The shooting came after a tense afternoon in which Tomasi and her crew were caught between riot police and protesters. At one point, she struggled to speak over the sound of clashes, while a protester grabbed the camera mid-broadcast. 'They've told people to get out of this area, and protesters have been refusing,' she reported. 'We are safe here. It's just noisy. But you can see the volatility.' Speaking later Monday to 9News, Tomasi confirmed she was safe and unharmed. 'I'm okay, my cameraman Jimmy and I are both safe. This is just one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on these kinds of incidents,' she said. 9News is part of Nine, one of Australia's largest media companies, which operates across television, radio, print and digital channels. Its major platforms include free-to-air Channel Nine and leading newspapers like The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. The demonstrations, which began with a few hundred people on Friday, had swelled by Sunday to thousands of people who blocked a major freeway and set several self-driving cars on fire. President Trump's sent National Guard troops to the city over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, in the first deployment without state consent since 1967.