Natalee Holloway's Mom Addresses Difference in Sudiksha Konanki Case
Originally appeared on E! Online
Natalee Holloway's mother is sharing her thoughts following the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki.
Following the disappearance of the University of Pittsburgh student during a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic, Beth Holloway, detailed the similarities between the current case and what her family went through after Natalee went missing in 2005 amid a graduation trip to Aruba.
"The family is so fortunate to have an American embassy there to work with," Beth told Fox News in a statement March 11. "I did not have that in Aruba."
In the days since Sudiksha, 20, was reported missing from Punta Cana, where she was staying with friends, on March 6—after traveling to the Dominican Republic with a group of friends for spring break—an investigation in the Dominican Republic has been underway, prompting a search of air, land, and sea from officials on the island with the FBI and the liaison of the U.S. Embassy assisting officials on the island.
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Surveillance footage, shared by Dominican authorities, showed Sudiksha and the five friends who traveled with her to the RIU hotel in Punta Cana—as well as two unidentified men—going the beach area of the resort around 4:15 a.m. However, Sudiksha's friends later returned to the resort without her 40 minutes later. The surveillance also showed a man who was walking with Sudiksha returning to the resort the same day without her.
Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader said in a March 10 press conference that one of the last people to have contact with the biology student told authorities, 'That a wave hit them while they were on the beach and caused some kind of situation," according to NBC News.
Two days later, a spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office in Virginia—where Sudiksha and her family live—told NBC News that a person on interest has been named in the U.S. investigation.
But as Loudoun County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Thomas Julia emphasized, 'This is not the same thing as a suspect as this is not a criminal matter. It is still a missing person case.'
Amid the investigation into Sudiksha'a disappearance, the situation has drawn many similarities to Natalee's case—nearly two decades later.
Natalee was 18 years old when she went missing May 30, 2005—sparking nationwide attention. Natalee was last seen with a group of men, including Joran van der Sloot leaving a club in Aruba..
In 2023, 18 years after he was initially named a person of interest in her disappearance, Joran confessed to killing the Alabama native after she refused his sexual advances. He is currently serving a 20 year prison sentence for a fraud case involving Natalee's parents, which is running concurrently with the 28-year prison sentence he is serving in Peru for the 2010 murder of college student Stephany Flores. Natalee, whose remains have never been found, was declared legally dead in 2012.
For everything to know about Konanki's disappearance, keep reading…
Where Did Sudiksha Konanki Travel to for Spring Break?Who Did Sudiksha Konanki Travel With?Where Was Sudiksha Konanki Staying?When Was Sudiksha Konanki Reported Missing?When Did Search and Rescue Efforts Begin for Sudiksha Konanki?What Do Officials Believe May Have Happened to Sudiksha Konanki?What Has Sudiksha Konanki's Family Said About the Case?
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