SCSU student last seen with missing student Sudiksha Konanki returns to US: What we know
Joshua Riibe, the 22-year-old college student believed to be the last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive and a central witness in her disappearance, left the Dominican Republic and is returning home to the United States, the Department of State confirmed Thursday.
Riibe was named as a person of interest by Dominican National Police in Konanki's March 6 disappearance. He was never a suspect in the investigation and has not been accused of wrongdoing.
Lawyers for Riibe in court Wednesday alleged that police had unfairly detained him, seized his passport and placed him under surveillance, according to local media and CBS News. A judge in the Dominican Republic ruled that Riibe had cooperated with the investigation and should be allowed to return home.
His release comes as Konanki's parents on Monday asked Dominican authorities to officially declare their daughter dead.
More: Missing student Sudiksha Konanki's family faces 'ambiguous loss' – the grief of uncertainty
Konanki, 20, vanished from a beach near the Riu Republica Hotel in the Dominican Republic on March 6 while on a spring break trip with friends.
Surveillance footage recorded hours before Konanki's disappearance showed her heading to the beach with a man identified as Riibe and six others. Officials say Konanki stayed behind with Riibe on the beach after the others left.
Riibe reportedly told investigators that he carried Konanki to shallow waters after the pair were swept out into the ocean by a current while swimming. He said he returned to the shore after that and didn't see where she went after that because he was vomiting and passed out.
Konanki's body has not been found.
Konanki's parents now believe their daughter drowned and asked Dominican authorities on Monday to declare her dead.
"Sudiksha's family has expressed their belief that she drowned," Sheriff Michael Chapman, of Loudoun County, Virginia, where her family lives, said in a statement. "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 as we continue to review the evidence and information made available to us in the course of this investigation."
The Dominican National Police and Loudoun County Sheriff's office did not immediately respond to a request for a comment Thursday about the status of the investigation into the University of Pittsburgh student's disappearance.
Reports: Last man to see Sudiksha Konanki said he tried to save missing student from ocean
Konanki's father, Subbarayudu Konanki, publicly urged detectives early in the investigation to expand their search for Konanki and consider other possible reasons for her disappearance, including kidnapping.
But this week Subbarayudu Konanki told reporters he and his wife were 'coming to terms' with their daughter drowning.
'This is incredibly difficult for us to process,' he said during a press conference, as his wife sobbed into her hands.
Riibe is a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota studying land surveying and mapping sciences, according to university spokesperson Zach Dwyer.
Investigators say he and Konanki met in the Dominican Republic.
Authorities said he cooperated with their investigation into Konanki's disappearance.
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: SCSU student last seen with Sudiksha Konanki returns to US
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