Authorities in Virginia have named a 24-year-old Iowa person as a “person of interest” in the mysterious disappearance of Indian-origin, University of Pittsburgh pupil Sudiksha Konanki during her spring break trip to the Dominican Republic.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, based in Konanki’s town of Chantilly, revealed that Joshua Ribe, identified from surveillance images, has been “interviewed at duration” but has not been accused of any crime, as reported by NY Post. The company is collaborating with the FBI and Dominican government as the search for the missing 20-year-old continues.
Read more:FBI joins search for missing Indian-origin student Sudiksha Konanki in US as parents plead for answers
Konanki, a pre-med pupil, vanished on March 6 while vacationing with five associates at the Riu Republic Resort in Punta Cana. Surveillance footage obtained by Dominican internet store Noticias SIN shows Konanki and Ribe walking toward the shore around 4.15 am with a group of friends. The film also appears to show Konanki clinging to Ribe as they made their way to the beach.
According to reports, most of the team eventually returned to the resort, leaving Konanki alone on the shore with Ribe. Ribe, who was visiting the Dominican Republic from Iowa, reportedly gave government three conflicting records of the evening’s activities.
In his original assertion, Ribe claimed he became ill from the rough sea and returned to sea after checking on Konanki. In a minute type, he said he left the water due to stomach problems and last saw her in knee-deep search before he passed out. In a second consideration, he told authorities he saw Konanki walking along the shore before he lost awareness on the gravel.
Despite these discrepancies, Dominican officials have no classified Ribe as a think and stated he is cooperating with their research.
Foul enjoy?
Local authorities have suggested that Konanki may have drowned after entering the sea, but her parents, Subbarayudu Konanki, has urged officials to develop their research efforts. He shared “growing fear” that his child may have been kidnapped, noting that no body has washed ashore.
A private investigator with experience in missing case of another high school student Natalee Holloway ( 2005 ) case has volunteered his services to assist in locating missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, suspecting potential abduction.
Speaking to NewsNation on Monday evening, TJ Ward, who formerly assisted the Holloway home during their mother’s disappearance in Aruba two decades ago, confirmed he had reached out to the Konanki home to aid in the research efforts in the Dominican Republic while sharing concerns about the nature of Sudiksha’s removal.
In his interview with Fox News, Ward dismissed the possibility of drowning, stating,” I don’t believe that she drowned in the ocean”, and added that “drowning would be one of the last things I think of right now”. ” I absolutely believe that someone knows anything, where she is, or someone took her away, or somebody’s holding her there”.
As the theories continue to swirl around the event, the Dominican Republic National Police are today re-interviewing Konanki’s traveling companions, hotel employees, and others who were present during the early morning hours. A high-level payment involving both US and Dominican organizations, including the FBI, is leading the research.
As the research enters its second morning, authorities are distributing missing people advertisements describing Konanki as 5-foot-3 with black hair and brown eyes. Family and friends remain hungry for solutions as the research continues to unfold.
