A man has been named a person of interest in the case of missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki.The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia confirmed to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Joshua Riibe is now considered a person of interest, but not a suspect.According to authorities, Riibe may have been the last person to see Konanki prior to her disappearance.Officials said he is a US Citizen who was vacation in Punta Cana, but was not with the group traveling with Konanki. Drones, helicopters and boats have been used to search for Konanki since she disappeared while on a spring break trip in the Dominican Republic on March 6.WHAT WE KNOW:Multiple posts on social media have shown officials in the Dominican Republic searching for 20-year-old Konanki, who was last seen on video surveillance on March 6 around 4:50 a.m. on the beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana.Police said Konanki, who is a resident of Loudon County, Virginia, traveled with five other people from the University of Pittsburgh to the area during the school’s spring break, which began March 2 and ended Sunday. “We now believe there were six female students of the University of Pittsburgh traveling to Punta Cana,” Thomas Julia of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said. “At least two of whom, including the missing person, are residents of Loudoun County.” After going to a nightclub, Konanki and a group of people went to the beach at 4 a.m. March 6. Sources said the other women traveling with the Pitt student were captured on camera at 5:55 a.m. returning to their hotel rooms without Konanki.A man stayed behind with Konanki on the beach, according to a Dominican Republic investigative police report attributed by ABC News.The man, whose identity has not been released, told officials he had gone for a swim with Konanki and got caught by a big wave, the report states.According to sources, the man said he went back to the beach and “threw up,” saying he passed out and later returned to the hotel, unsure where she had gone.Sources tell ABC News that security video showed the man arriving at the hotel just before 10 a.m. Officials said the man is not considered a suspect in her disappearance.As of Sunday evening, three Dominican officials told ABC News the Pitt student may have died by drowning after she went for a swim and was caught by a big wave. The FBI has since been briefed on the situation.Several agencies are also involved in the search, including civil defense, firefighters, the national police and the Dominican Navy. The University of Pittsburgh Police Department provided an update Monday, saying it is also working with the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office and the following agencies: the U.S. State Department, FBI, HSI, DEA, and the local Dominican Republic authorities.Konanki’s parents have since traveled from Virginia to the Dominican Republic to help in the search.PERSON OF INTEREST: Joshua RiibeOn Wednesday, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to WTAE they consider Joshua Riibe a person of interest. Though Riibe is considered a person of interest, officials say he is not a suspect and the case is not a criminal investigation at this time.”It is our understanding that he is a US citizen who was vacationing in Punta Cana, not part of the group traveling with the missing person,” Officials with the sheriff’s office told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4. Officials say Riibe may have been the last one to see Konanki.Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 will bring you the latest information as it becomes available. WHAT TACTICS OFFICIALS ARE USING IN THE SEARCH The Dominican Republic Civil Defense released a statement Monday saying drones, along with helicopters and teams specialized in maritime rescues, have been deployed in the search for Konanki. Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 spoke with officials from Pittsburgh’s swift water rescue team about the difficulty crews may face in locating Konanki in the Dominican Republic. “So, it poses a greater risk and difficulty in that aspect (searching in the water). The amount of water, how strong the currents are, the waves coming down. It can hit someone, knock someone over. The type of land that’s underneath the water rocks, depending on the shoreline, and just the vast majority of it,” Thomas Deangelis, deputy chief in charge of special operations in Stowe Township, said Tuesday.They said in their cases, it may be easier to get to a victim before they drown. But that’s not always the case for the ocean.”The ocean can be a great danger, even for the greatest swimmers. Things like the rip currents in the waves knocking them over,” Deangelis said. Crews in the Dominican Republic have continued to search the beach she was last seen walking on, and multiple posts on social media show groups along the shoreline. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC OFFICIALS TO ‘RE-INTERVIEW TARGETED INDIVIDUALS’In a release from the Dominican Republic National Police on Tuesday afternoon, officials said police will reinterview “targeted individuals who were in the victim’s proximity at the time of her disappearance.” The individuals to be reinterviewed include hotel employees from where Konanki and her friends were staying with the “goal of gathering information to corroborate her movements, interactions, and any relevant details for the investigation.”Officials also said they’ve learned from the hotel that her disappearance coincided with a power outage that prompted multiple guests to head to the beach. WHO IS SUDIKSHA KONANKI?Konanki is currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. According to Pitt’s website, she is said to be studying biological sciences and chemistry. The website did not list an official declaration of her major. According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated in 2022 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where she earned a diploma in biological sciences. U.S. News & World Report ranked Thomas Jefferson as the No. 1 high school in America in 2021 and 2022. HOW YOU CAN HELP IN THE SEARCH Anyone with information is urged to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021.
A man has been named a person of interest in the case of missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia confirmed to Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 Joshua Riibe is now considered a person of interest, but not a suspect.
According to authorities, Riibe may have been the last person to see Konanki prior to her disappearance.
Officials said he is a US Citizen who was vacation in Punta Cana, but was not with the group traveling with Konanki.
Drones, helicopters and boats have been used to search for Konanki since she disappeared while on a spring break trip in the Dominican Republic on March 6.
WHAT WE KNOW:
Multiple posts on social media have shown officials in the Dominican Republic searching for 20-year-old Konanki, who was last seen on video surveillance on March 6 around 4:50 a.m. on the beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana.
Police said Konanki, who is a resident of Loudon County, Virginia, traveled with five other people from the University of Pittsburgh to the area during the school’s spring break, which began March 2 and ended Sunday.
“We now believe there were six female students of the University of Pittsburgh traveling to Punta Cana,” Thomas Julia of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said. “At least two of whom, including the missing person, are residents of Loudoun County.”
After going to a nightclub, Konanki and a group of people went to the beach at 4 a.m. March 6. Sources said the other women traveling with the Pitt student were captured on camera at 5:55 a.m. returning to their hotel rooms without Konanki.
A man stayed behind with Konanki on the beach, according to a Dominican Republic investigative police report attributed by ABC News.
The man, whose identity has not been released, told officials he had gone for a swim with Konanki and got caught by a big wave, the report states.
According to sources, the man said he went back to the beach and “threw up,” saying he passed out and later returned to the hotel, unsure where she had gone.
Sources tell ABC News that security video showed the man arriving at the hotel just before 10 a.m. Officials said the man is not considered a suspect in her disappearance.
As of Sunday evening, three Dominican officials told ABC News the Pitt student may have died by drowning after she went for a swim and was caught by a big wave.
The FBI has since been briefed on the situation.
Several agencies are also involved in the search, including civil defense, firefighters, the national police and the Dominican Navy.
The University of Pittsburgh Police Department provided an update Monday, saying it is also working with the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office and the following agencies: the U.S. State Department, FBI, HSI, DEA, and the local Dominican Republic authorities.
Konanki’s parents have since traveled from Virginia to the Dominican Republic to help in the search.
PERSON OF INTEREST: Joshua Riibe
On Wednesday, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to WTAE they consider Joshua Riibe a person of interest.
Though Riibe is considered a person of interest, officials say he is not a suspect and the case is not a criminal investigation at this time.
“It is our understanding that he is a US citizen who was vacationing in Punta Cana, not part of the group traveling with the missing person,” Officials with the sheriff’s office told Pittsburgh’s Action News 4.
Officials say Riibe may have been the last one to see Konanki.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 will bring you the latest information as it becomes available.
WHAT TACTICS OFFICIALS ARE USING IN THE SEARCH
The Dominican Republic Civil Defense released a statement Monday saying drones, along with helicopters and teams specialized in maritime rescues, have been deployed in the search for Konanki.
Pittsburgh’s Action News 4 spoke with officials from Pittsburgh’s swift water rescue team about the difficulty crews may face in locating Konanki in the Dominican Republic.
“So, it poses a greater risk and difficulty in that aspect (searching in the water). The amount of water, how strong the currents are, the waves coming down. It can hit someone, knock someone over. The type of land that’s underneath the water rocks, depending on the shoreline, and just the vast majority of it,” Thomas Deangelis, deputy chief in charge of special operations in Stowe Township, said Tuesday.
They said in their cases, it may be easier to get to a victim before they drown. But that’s not always the case for the ocean.
“The ocean can be a great danger, even for the greatest swimmers. Things like the rip currents in the waves knocking them over,” Deangelis said.
Crews in the Dominican Republic have continued to search the beach she was last seen walking on, and multiple posts on social media show groups along the shoreline.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC OFFICIALS TO ‘RE-INTERVIEW TARGETED INDIVIDUALS’
In a release from the Dominican Republic National Police on Tuesday afternoon, officials said police will reinterview “targeted individuals who were in the victim’s proximity at the time of her disappearance.”
The individuals to be reinterviewed include hotel employees from where Konanki and her friends were staying with the “goal of gathering information to corroborate her movements, interactions, and any relevant details for the investigation.”
Officials also said they’ve learned from the hotel that her disappearance coincided with a power outage that prompted multiple guests to head to the beach.
WHO IS SUDIKSHA KONANKI?
Konanki is currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. According to Pitt’s website, she is said to be studying biological sciences and chemistry. The website did not list an official declaration of her major.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated in 2022 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where she earned a diploma in biological sciences.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Thomas Jefferson as the No. 1 high school in America in 2021 and 2022.
HOW YOU CAN HELP IN THE SEARCH
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021.
