Person Of Interest Claims To Have Rescued VA Student Before Her Disappearance

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — New details have emerged about in the story of a Minnesota college student named a person of interest in the disappearance of college student Sudiksha Konanki from Loudoun County, who vanished at a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Police in the Dominican Republic questioned Joshua Riibe, a 22-year-old St. Cloud State University student, about what happened when Konanki disappeared. As reported by People magazine, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office identified Joshua Riibe as a person of interest, but he is not officially a suspect in the case.

Authorities believe Riibe was the last person to see Konanki. Surveillance footage showed Riibe and Konanki with a group heading to the beach around 4:15 a.m. on March 6, CNN reported. In a statement sent to the Associated Press, the Riu Republica Hotel said Konanki’s disappearance coincided with a power outage that prompted multiple guests to head to the beach.

Surveillance cameras showed five women and one man leaving the Punta Cana beach around 4:55 a.m., which authorities believe left Konanki alone with the person of interest. In a transcript of his conversation with police reported by the New York Post, Riibe said he pulled Konanki and himself out of the surf when it became rough.

According to the report originally shared in Spanish by Noticias SIN, Riibe and Konanki were talking and kissing in waist-deep water when the ocean become too rough. Riibe told police he had Konanki under his arm while heading back to the beach, but it took effort to fight against the rough waters.

"It took me a long time to get her out, it was difficult. I was a lifeguard in the pool, not in the sea," Riibe said, according to the transcript, also noting he ingested a large amount of sea water when heading to shore.

Riibe told police he got them to a less rough area in the water, and Konanki said she was retrieving her items that the ocean had moved. However, Konanki was still in water up to her knees.

"The last time I saw her, I asked if she was okay," the transcript read, according to a translation by WTOP. "I didn’t hear her answer because I started vomiting all the seawater I’d swallowed. After I vomited, I looked around, didn’t see anyone, and thought she’d grabbed her things and left."

Riibe, who was feeling sick, said he then passed out on the beach and awoke around sunrise.

The New York Post reported that Riibe didn't answer eight of the Dominican police's questions, including what he told his friend about the missing college student, if Konanki knew how to swim, if he notified the hotel about the incident, and what he thought of Konanki's disappearance.

Konanki was last seen in the early morning of March 6. Since her disappearance, a widespread search involving authorities from the Dominican Republic, the U.S. and India has mobilized. Konanki, from Chantilly, is a citizen of India and a permanent U.S. resident studying pre-medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. She had been on a spring break trip with five friends since March 3, according to Dominican National Police.

CNN reported that authorities found video footage showing additional people on the beach near the time the 20-year-old student was last seen. Authorities have not identified the other people on the beach and asked them to report any information they know about the missing college student.

Authorities have been investigating drowning as a possible cause of the student's disappearance. Search and rescue teams continued to look for the missing student around areas with coral reefs, the Dominican news outlet Noticias SIN reported. WTOP noted that four people drowned and two others were saved from the water earlier this year at the same resort Konanki was at.

Konanki's father, Subbarayudu Konanki, and a friend, Ramprakash Krishnamanaidu, have called for a broadened investigation to look into causes like abduction or other foul play, WTOP reported. The record of complaint noted that she left behind personal items like her phone and wallet with friends.

Dominican Republic authorities said they are "conducting multiple investigative procedures" beyond an accidental incident. However, details are remaining confidential, per Dominican Republic regulations.

"We are using all our resources to thoroughly investigate the disappearance of Konanki Sudiskha Chowdary and understand the distress this case causes her family, Dominican citizens, and Americans," said Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso, translated from Spanish in a news release.

INTERPOL issued a worldwide missing person alert for Konanki on Wednesday after a request from the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. The INTERPOL alert describes Konanki as a 20-year-old Indian woman about 5 foot 2 and 138 pounds with black hair, brown eyes and three piercings on her right ear.

Anyone with information in the case may contact the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office at 703-777-1021. Anonymous tips can be submitted to Loudoun Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919.

The Associated Press and Patch editor Eric Heyl contributed to this report.