Punta Cana, Dominican Republic – The beach part of the University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki disappeared Spring Break Last week was the place where four European tourists drowned in January.
Dominican attorney Luis Vilchez, who is not involved in the case, said it was known to be dangerous.
He told Fox News Digital: “Every beach in the Macau region of Uvero Alto and Uvero Alto is a beach in Punta Cana and you have to be careful because when these waves are strong they will drag you to the sea.”
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, from Northern Virginia, initially disappeared after disappearing from a beach in the Dominican Republic on March 6. (Lecture Notes, left; Defensa Civil Dominicana, right)
In January, multiple people were drowned and others were rescued from the beach behind the same resort that they were last seen, Riu Republica, Punta Cana. The first three to be recycled were identified as European tourists, two from Poland and the other from Portugal.
The next day, the body of the Polish national was found on the shore for the third time, according to local newspaper Bavaro Digital.
Vilchez noted that on the morning of Konanki’s disappearance, there were red warning flags, indicating that surfing conditions were particularly rough at the time. But she and her friends may have been unsuspecting victims after drinking from March 5 to the early morning of the next morning.
Missing in the Dominican Republic: Searching for Sudiksha Konanki for a week
American college student Sudiksha Konanki disappeared while on vacation with Punta Cana on March 6, 2025. (Fox News Graphics)
At around 4:15 a.m., Konanki is part of a group of six women and two men and is in a video of surveillance video approaching the beach. Six of them came back around 6 a.m. to leave Concarney alone on the beach, a 22-year-old Joshua Riibe, Iowa.
Riibe, a companion from spring break St. Cloud State University In Minnesota, working with authorities and not yet appointed as a suspect, Konanki is the only one who is not blamed.
“People who are drunk in the middle of the night won’t take this into consideration,” Vilches said. “While under normal circumstances, waves on a specific beach can be dangerous, they are even more so when red flags rise.”
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Authorities say Kang Ki and her friends enjoyed drinks in the hotel bar before heading to the beach behind the resort.
Military personnel searched for Sudiksha Konanki, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, who disappeared on March 10 on the beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. （AP/Francesco Spotorno）
He told Fox News that he was referring to seeing both walking in the video; they couldn’t walk straight. “He refers to Konanki’s last known surveillance video showing her heading to the beach with a group of friends. “If they were in the water at that time, a wave would have easily accomplished everything he said. ”
Riibe allegedly told authorities that the two were swept away by strong waves and swept off the coastline along the coastline. After working hard to restore the land, he said he threw it out of swallowing salt water.
Investigators have expanded the search area as U.S. college student Sudiksha Konanki remains missing after disappearing from a beach in Punta Cana on March 6, 2025. (Fox News Graphics)
“I asked her if she was okay. I didn’t hear her response because I started vomiting all the swallowed sea water.” “After vomiting, I looked around and saw no one. I thought she grabbed her stuff and left. I felt very sad. I lay on the beach chair and fell asleep because I couldn’t walk very far because the sun and mosquitoes bite it.
Then he fell asleep on a beach chair and saw him returning to the hotel around 10 a.m.
Experts have previously told Fox News Digital The Beach is known for its powerful trends and that they may not be predictable without warning.
Authorities searched for missing American student Sudiksha Konanki in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News figures)
“Punta Cana is located on the Mona channel, which connects the Atlantic Ocean between the Caribbean and the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico.” Fox Weather Meteorologist and digital content producers, explained. He examined coastal records during the period of Connaco’s disappearance.
“As common as two waterways meet, it’s different from the more predictable patterns that are often seen on the beaches on the East Coast of the United States.”
While some experts have questions about his story, Wilches said he doesn’t think there is time foul and hide evidence.
“At 6 a.m., people came to the sun,” he said to the Fox News figure. “If he killed her, he wouldn’t have time to take her anywhere without being seen.”
Unpredictable ocean currents, the seashore faces major search challenges
He said the resort and its nearby competitors have cameras, including on the beaches on both sides of the RIU.
“A drunk guy won’t have the brain power to overwhelm her and to the current ability – fortunately, that body hasn’t been found yet,” he said.
People on the beach at RIU Republica Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News figures)
Riibe is working with authorities and has not been appointed as a suspect. But in a statement Friday, his parents said they were concerned about the “irregular conditions” he faced in the first six days of the investigation.
“While he was fully willing to cooperate, Josh was detained under irregular conditions and was present by an official translator or legal counsel until Wednesday, March 12,” his parents, Albert and Tina Riibe, said through a lawyer.
“He has been staying in his hotel room under police surveillance, and since March 6 he has been repeatedly taken to the police station where he has been questioned for a long time. This situation has attracted serious concern within his family, which has left us with legal counsel to ensure his safety and protection of his rights in the process.”
Authorities searched for missing American student Sudiksha Konanki in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News figures)
The family said they were willing to continue working with the search work and hoped to share their “deep sorrow and solidarity” with Konanki’s family.
“The most important thing is that we want to contribute to the search work and understand the pain and uncertainty they are experiencing, and we share our hopes to find Sudiksha as soon as possible,” they said. “Joshua Riibe is deeply frustrated Her disappearance And from the very beginning, they have fully collaborated on the search and clarification of facts. ”
Konanki’s whereabouts remain unknown, officials say they are working on a case of missing persons, and Not a criminal investigation. But they left all the possibilities. On the other hand, experts also say that the corpse tends to float back to the shore within two or three days. She disappeared on March 6.
People are enjoying their time on the beach at the RIU Republica Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News figures)
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Dominican police led the investigation with the assistance of several U.S. agencies, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security. Investigators from the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office in Concarney’s hometown, led two detectives to Punta Cana with permission from Dominican authorities. They interviewed Ribe on Thursday, did some independent work on the ground, and returned to Friday.
A sheriff’s spokesman told Fox News numbers, “Mr. Ribe is not a suspect in any form or form.”
