The last known trace of Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old American student, shows her walking hand in hand with a man along the beach promenade at dawn.
Surveillance footage captured the final moments before she vanished, leaving behind a trail of mystery and heartbreak.
Vanished without a trace
The disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student from Loudoun County, Virginia, has captured national attention as new, unsettling details continue to emerge
Sudiksha vanished while vacationing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, earlier this month, leaving both her family and authorities searching for answers.
What was meant to be a relaxing spring break has now turned into a haunting mystery, with few clues to explain her sudden and unexplained disappearance.
It all started when Sudiksha Konanki, 20, went on spring break with five female friends in early March, in Punta Cana.
Three days later, she vanished without a trace on March 6.
Last seen around 5:50 am on the beach with another tourist, Joshua Steven Riibe, her disappearance has left many in shock and confusion.
It also triggered a frantic search by air, sea, and land, with authorities from the United States, the Dominican Republic, and India — Sudiksha’s family’s home country — joining the effort.
“This is one of the largest operations we have carried out for the rescue of a person,” Agustín Morillo Rodríguez, general commander of the Dominican Republic Navy, told CNN.
Last photo
Dominican officials initially believed Sudiksha’s disappearance was a drowning. The night she disappeared, sea conditions were dangerous due to high waves.
However, the general prosecutor’s office has stated they are now also looking into whether her disappearance might involve something more than just an accident.
A new surveillance image shows missing Pitt student cuddling up to a male friend just before disappearing from a Dominican Republic beach. This is the last known photo of her, according to Noticias SIN.
Passed out from drinking
According to the man who was last seen with Sudiksha, Joshua Steven Riibe, he is cooperating with the investigation. Police do not consider him a suspect.
Riibe, from Rock Rapids, Iowa, claims that he was on the beach with Sudiksha when things took a turn. He says he passed out from drinking, and when he woke up, she was gone.
Initially, he also told authorities that he had saved her from a dangerous wave, preventing her from drowning, but after that, his memory goes blank.
According to a transcript obtained by NBC News, Riibe said he and Sudiksha were ”in waist-deep water, talking and kissing a little.” He described how a wave crashed and pulled them both ”out to sea.”
