Friends of Joshua Riibe, witness in case of missing American student, say the community 'stands behind' him
A key witness in the case of missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki has the support of his community, according to a statement released by friends of his family on Sunday evening.
Konanki, a 20-year-old Virginia resident, was last seen walking on the beach outside the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic in the early hours of March 6, according to authorities.
The lone known eyewitness in the case, 22-year-old Joshua Riibe, of Iowa, has been questioned by authorities from various agencies as they seek answers in Konanki's disappearance. He was the last person seen with Konanki while they were staying at the resort with their friends for spring break.
Friends of the Riibe family released a statement affirming their support for the college student, who has been described as a "key element" in the missing person investigation. He has not been named a suspect, nor has any crime been alleged.
Dominican Attorney General Grills Witness In Missing American Case At His Resort In Person
"The Rock Rapids community stands behind and supports Joshua Riibe and his family," the statement, which was released by the Lyon County Sheriff's Office on behalf of friends of the Riibe family, said. "The Riibe family moved to town in 2015 and has been active in various school and community events and organizations. They are well known and loved."
Read On The Fox News App
"Josh has an unwavering devotion to his faith and a genuine kindness towards others," the statement continued. "He exemplifies the values of compassion, respect and integrity that are fundamental to our church and our community."
The friends who wrote the statement urged the public to respect the Riibe family's privacy "during this difficult time of uncertainty."
"While Josh focuses his efforts to help find Sudiksha Konanki, his family at home is providing support to their loved ones in the Dominican Republic. Please help us respect those priorities," the statement concluded.
American College Student Disappears In Dominican Republic: Timeline
Riibe has been joined in the Dominican Republic by his parents.
Authorities revealed Saturday that his passport had been confiscated.Original article source: Friends of Joshua Riibe, witness in case of missing American student, say the community 'stands behind' him
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Karoline Leavitt gets fiery as she's pressed on Trump's military response to Los Angeles protests
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt got into a heated back and forth with reporters on Wednesday as she held her first briefing since President Donald Trump' federalized the National Guard in California and sent active-duty Marines to join them in cracking down on protests and unrest over immigration roundups in Los Angeles. Leavitt condemned the protests as 'shameful,' citing what she described as 'left-wing radicals waving foreign flags' who she accused of 'viciously attacking' Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents as well as Los Angeles Police Department officers as part of an assault on 'American culture and society itself.' Leavitt also condemned Democratic elected officials in the Golden State, specifically Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, accusing them of having 'shamefully failed to meet their sworn obligations to their citizens' by not ordering a forceful military response to protesters. She also lauded Trump for ordering the 'mob' of protesters to be 'stamped out.' 'The criminals responsible will be swiftly brought to justice, and the Trump administration's operations to arrest illegal aliens are continuing unabated,' Leavitt said. She added that Newsom and Bass had sided 'with illegal alien criminals in their communities and violent rioters and looters over law enforcement officers who are just doing their jobs.' But Leavitt's pugnacious attacks on California leaders did not satisfy reporters, who repeatedly asked her about the extent to which the military service members who've been deployed in Los Angeles are authorized to aid in immigration law enforcement, nor did she fully explain how Trump's threats to use 'very big force' against protesters at his planned military parade in D.C. this weekend comport with America's constitutional guarantees of free speech. She also aggressively denied that the immigration crackdown that precipitated the protests and violence over the weekend had been ordered up in an effort to change the national conversation from Trump's messy split with billionaire Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX boss who wrapped up a stint as an unpaid adviser to the administration late last month. Asked about the possibility that Trump's crackdown was meant as a distraction to their social media war, Leavitt replied: 'That's an incredibly disingenuous attack.' She said Trump had been moved by 'images of border patrol and ICE agents being hailed with rocks and Molotov cocktails' and 'vehicles being burned to the ground with illegal aliens flying foreign flags.' Leavitt's press briefing came less than a day after Trump threatened to forcibly put down any protests that spoil the military parade he has ordered up for his birthdayon Saturday to coincide with the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army's founding during the American Revolutionary War. During a media availability in the Oval Office on Tuesday, the president warned that any protests of the parade would be 'met with very big force' on Saturday. He reiterated the explicit threat a moment later, telling 'those people who want to protest' that they would be 'met with very big force' once more. He also opined further that any protest against the parade on Saturday would consist only of 'people who hate our country.' The president has a long history of pushing for the use of state violence against protests, which he considers to be a personal affront and a reflection of weakness on his part. During protests for racial justice in Washington following the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis, Minnesota police officer, he reportedly pushed to have military and law enforcement open fire on other protesters, asking then his then-Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, General Mark Milley, why National Guard troops deployed as a result of the demonstrations could not shoot protesters in the legs. But Leavitt denied that Trump has any intention of attacking protests against his parade or his policies this weekend. Seemingly ignorant of the president's history of urging violence against demonstrations, Leavitt claimed the president 'supports the right of Americans to peacefully protest' and 'supports the First Amendment' while suggesting that the protests in Los Angeles have consisted entirely of 'mobs of violent rioters and agitators assaulting law enforcement officers, assaulting our federal immigration authorities.' 'Thankfully, the President took action and stepped in to protect our federal law enforcement agents, to perfect protect federal buildings, to protect the federal mission of deporting illegal criminals off of our streets, and that mission will continue every day, as far as we're concerned,' she said.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
American woman dies after Bushmills road traffic collision
A pedestrian has died following a one vehicle road traffic collision in Bushmills, County Antrim, on Wednesday. Police received a report of the collision on the Causeway Road shortly before 12:30 BST. Allison Eichner, an American citizen from Connecticut in her 40s, was taken to hospital but died from her injuries. One person was arrested, and remains in custody, assisting with enquiries. Detectives are conducting enquiries to establish the circumstances of the collision and have asked for anyone with information to come forward.
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
College students, agitators and a Hamptons brat among 86 arrested at rowdy NYC anti-ICE protest
They shouldn't have trouble making bail. Cops cuffed 86 demonstrators at a rowdy anti-ICE rally in Lower Manhattan Tuesday, among them the daughter of a Moroccan actor, a self-proclaimed poet from an upscale college and a coed whose family owns a posh home in the Hamptons, The Post has learned. 'My sense is, the vast majority of the 2,500 people that were there, were there to protest peacefully,' NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said on Fox 5 News. 'There was a smaller group of a few hundred where we did have to make arrests. Some of them were looking for trouble.' Advertisement 6 The NYPD said 86 people were charged in a rowdy anti-ICE demonstration in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. The protest in Foley Square against deportation arrests by federal immigration agents began peacefully but grew increasingly violent shortly after 5 p.m., with the mob hurling bottles at cops and throwing traffic cones into traffic, an NYPD spokesperson said. Of the 86 who were charged, 52 were issued summonses for disorderly conduct and other minor charges, while 34 were arrested and charged with more serious crimes, including felony assault. Advertisement Among those busted was Vega Gullette, a 19-year-old student at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers who describes herself as 'a Moroccan-American writer, artist, and lover of junk.' The teen, who was charged with second-degree assault and disorderly conduct, is the daughter of Sean Gullette, an actor, screenwriter and director whose credits include the Darren Aronofsky films 'Requiem for a Dream' and 'Pi.' 6 The NYPD said 86 people were charged in a rowdy anti-ICE demonstration in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. Carlos Chiossone/Zuma / 6 The NYPD said 86 people were charged in a rowdy anti-ICE demonstration in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. Aristide Economopoulos Advertisement Also among those charged was Rachel Schreiber, 22, of Brooklyn, who is facing resisting arrest, reckless endangerment and attempted assault charges in the melee. Records show her parents own a $3 million home in Westhampton Beach. 'I'm not giving any reaction,' her mother told The Post Wednesday. 'I'm not ready to talk about this with the press.' Some of the pinched protesters are no strangers to Big Apple demonstrations. Advertisement Robert Mills, 40, who was charged with reckless endangerment and issued a disorderly conduct citation in Tuesday's scuffle, was charged with obstructing governmental administration in April during an anti-Israeli protest in Brooklyn, the Jewish News Syndicate reported. 6 The NYPD said 86 people were charged in a rowdy anti-ICE demonstration in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. REUTERS 6 The NYPD said 86 people were charged in a rowdy anti-ICE demonstration in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. REUTERS Tabitha Howell, 40 — who was cited for disorderly conduct — was among those injured when a crazed Queens woman drove into a Manhattan Black Lives matter protest in 2020. 'It's one thing to face physical recovery,' Howell, who said she suffered five bulging discs in her back and a traumatic brain injury in the incident, told The Post at the time. 'It's another to try to process what happened mentally and emotionally.' Meanwhile, Tisch and Mayor Eric Adams gave assurances this week that the city will not devolve in to chaos like Los Angeles, where ICE agents sparked outbreaks of violence that required the National Guard to step in to try to restore peace. 6 The NYPD said 86 people were charged in a rowdy anti-ICE demonstration in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. Meir Chaimowitz/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Advertisement 'Watching what was going on in California, I spent the weekend on the phone with our federal partners in New York City — the head of the FBI in New York, federal protective services, homeland security investigations,' Tisch told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe. Additional reporting by Kevin Sheehan
