The family of Sudiksha Konanki, an Indian student who went missing while vacationing in the Dominican Republic, has formally requested that authorities declare her deceased, according to U.S. media reports.
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was an Indian citizen and a permanent resident of the United States. She was last seen on March 6 at the Riu Republic Resort in Punta Cana. U.S. federal law enforcement agencies have been working with Dominican authorities to investigate her disappearance. Despite extensive search efforts, her body has not been recovered.
Dominican Republic National Police spokesperson Diego Pesqueira confirmed that Konanki’s family submitted a formal request for a declaration of death, as reported by NBC News on Tuesday.
The Konanki family has not immediately responded to requests for comment.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have confiscated the passport of the last person known to have been with Konanki, according to a source familiar with the investigation, as reported by CNN News.
Over the weekend, Dominican Republic Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso conducted a six-hour interview with Joshua Steven Riibe. Further questioning with a local prosecutor is expected, the source added.
Riibe has not been named a suspect and has not been accused of any wrongdoing.
The reason for the confiscation of Riibe’s passport remains unclear. Since Konanki went missing in the early hours of March 6, Riibe, a 22-year-old senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota and a resident of Rock Rapids, Iowa, has been under police surveillance in the Dominican Republic. He has also undergone multiple interrogations, according to a statement from his parents.
On Monday, the Konanki family submitted a formal letter to authorities acknowledging that there is no indication of foul play in Konanki’s presumed death. She was last seen near a Punta Cana beach in the early hours of March 6, according to the New York Post.
Sudiksha Konanki’s parents have expressed trust in the authorities’ investigation into their daughter’s disappearance and acknowledged that Joshua Steven Riibe has cooperated fully with investigators, according to sources.
In their formal letter, the Konanki family stated that they understand the legal procedures required to have their daughter declared deceased and affirmed their willingness to comply with any necessary formalities or documentation, as reported by ABC News.
Ms. Konanki, described by her father as an “ambitious” student who aspired to study medicine, arrived in Punta Cana on March 3. She was traveling with five other female students from the University of Pittsburgh, according to the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office.
Riibe stated that he first met Ms. Konanki at the hotel when he and his friend introduced themselves to her group. The two groups socialized at the hotel bar, where they drank together until someone suggested heading to the beach, he recounted in his interview.
Surveillance footage from the early hours of March 6 shows Ms. Konanki at the Riu Republica Hotel bar, drinking with five women and two men. In the footage, she is seen wearing a white cover-up, embracing and chatting with friends. Riibe appears several feet away, bending over and stumbling on the lawn outside the bar.
At approximately 4:15 a.m., security cameras captured the group, including Ms. Konanki, heading toward the beach, according to police.
Shortly before 5 a.m., additional surveillance footage showed five women and one man leaving the beach. According to two sources familiar with the investigation, Ms. Konanki was not among them.
During his fourth interview with prosecutors on Wednesday, Riibe described a distressing attempt to assist Ms. Konanki after they were both caught in a wave. He stated that she had become exhausted while swimming.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic have stated that no individuals are currently considered suspects in Ms. Konanki’s disappearance.
Meanwhile, U.S. authorities have classified the case as a missing persons matter rather than a criminal investigation.
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