Dominican Republic news outlet Noticias SIN reports that the man who was last with University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki before she went missing from a Dominican Republic beach has provided local prosecutors with more details about the last time he saw her. Konanki went missing from the beach at the Riu República Hotel in the early hours of March 6, prompting an urgent search by authorities in the Dominican Republic, the United States, and Konanki's birthplace, India.
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03-15, 2025Joshua Steven Riibe, the man who was with Konanki on the beach at the time, told prosecutors that he and Konanki were struck by a large wave and swept out to sea as the water receded, according to Noticias SIN. Riibe, a 22-year-old American, is not currently considered a suspect in the case and has not been charged with any wrongdoing.
One of Riibe's attorneys, Helen Peralta, told CNN on Friday that they have no statement at this time. During his fourth interview with prosecutors on Wednesday, Riibe described the difficult process of trying to rescue Konanki after they were hit by the wave, at which point Konanki was already exhausted. "It took me a long time to get her out. It was difficult," Riibe said, according to Noticias SIN. He said he had lifeguard training but primarily worked at swimming pools, not beaches.
Riibe continued, "I was trying to get her to breathe. It was preventing me from breathing all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water. I probably lost consciousness a few times. When I finally got to the ground on the beach, I held her in front of me." He said the last time he saw Konanki was as she walked in knee-deep water. "The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was okay. I didn't hear her answer because I started throwing up all the seawater I had swallowed."
Riibe also stated, "After I vomited, I looked around, and I didn't see anyone. I assumed she had taken something and left. I felt very unwell and exhausted. I lay down on a beach chair and fell asleep because I couldn't go far." He said he was awakened by the sun and mosquito bites, and he went to a friend's room to get his phone before returning to his own room to sleep. "I was sleeping in the room, and my friend asked me if I had seen her; I told him no, I assumed she had gone back to her room," Riibe said. His friend told him that Konanki had never returned to her room, which "surprised" Riibe. When asked if he had seen Konanki after that night, Riibe said, "I never saw her again after I saw her walking away in the water." According to transcripts obtained by Noticias SIN, Riibe declined to answer some of the prosecutor's questions. CNN has seen a copy of the transcripts.
Konanki's family resides in Loudoun County, Virginia, and detectives from the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office conducted an extensive interview with Riibe on Thursday afternoon, with Riibe's father and attorney present, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Thomas Julia told CNN. Julia said the detectives will be traveling back to the U.S. on Friday. Since the incident, Riibe said he has remained in his room for interviews, and he was vacationing in the Dominican Republic with a classmate at the time.
Riibe is a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, majoring in land surveying and mapping sciences, a university spokesperson told CNN. He is from Rock Rapids, Iowa. His aunt, Theresa Riibe, requested privacy in a statement to CNN on Friday. "Our family is going through a very difficult time right now, and we are experiencing a lot of grief and pain," the statement said. "We ask that everyone please respect our privacy as we navigate this challenging time together."
Riibe said he first met Konanki at the hotel when he and his friend introduced themselves to Konanki's group. According to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, Konanki was at the resort with five other female students from the University of Pittsburgh. The two groups of friends went to a bar together, where they drank until "someone suggested we go to the beach," Riibe said in the interview. Two of the women stayed behind. The Dominican Republic National Police said in a statement that Konanki was last seen on surveillance video entering the beach of the Riu República Hotel in Punta Cana with seven other people after 4:15 a.m. on March 6.
A source with the Dominican Republic National Police told CNN that surveillance video shows the group of Americans -- Konanki, the five other women, and two men -- drinking in the hotel lobby around 3 a.m. before heading to the beach. Around 4:55 a.m. on Thursday, surveillance cameras captured five women and one man leaving the beach, while Konanki and another young man are believed to have remained, two sources familiar with the investigation told CNN. The surveillance video shows the man leaving the beach area at 8:55 a.m. without Konanki, the two sources said. Law enforcement sources said that when Konanki did not return to her room, her companions initially searched for her before notifying authorities. The Riu hotel chain said in a statement that the group then reported her missing to hotel staff around 4 p.m. on Thursday.
Konanki's father, Subarayudu Konanki, said she went to Punta Cana for spring break. "My daughter is a very good girl," he said. "She is very ambitious. She wants to pursue a career in medicine." Konanki's father hopes the local government "also investigates other possibilities, including whether this is a kidnapping or human trafficking case," he told CNN in Punta Cana on Sunday. "We don't think she could survive in the water for more than three days, and I think something else may have happened." The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office in Virginia also urged caution regarding "public speculation" about Konanki's disappearance in a press release on Monday. "There has been a considerable amount of public speculation about what may have happened to Konanki and who may have been involved," the sheriff's office said. "We caution anyone against drawing any unsubstantiated conclusions and are committed to ensuring a thorough investigation is conducted before any conclusions are reached."
