A man who is believed to have been the last person to see missing student Sudiksha Konanki alive has expressed his willingness to assist in the search efforts as investigations into her disappearance intensify.
Mystery continues to shroud the case of Konanki, 20, after she was last seen on March 6.
Konanki, who lives in Virginia, traveled to the Dominican Republic with her pals to enjoy spring break.
Surveillance footage captured Konanki and Joshua Riibe, who has been named a person of interest, heading toward the beach at 4:15am that morning.
Riibe, 22, has since had his passport seized by cops and is banned from leaving the Dominican Republic.
But, he was spotted on a beach on Saturday morning, as reported by NBC News.
“I’m just trying to help them out,” he told reporters as he spoke about the search.
And, he warned: “The ocean is a dangerous place.”
Riibe’s documents were seized last week when he tried to check out of his hotel, as reported by Fox News.
Police sources told the outlet Riibe, a student at St. Cloud University in Minnesota, is a “key element” in the investigation.
He has not been accused of any crime.
But, the senior’s parents, Albert and Tina Riibe, have slammed the Dominican Republic police.
They claimed he had been detained under “irregular” conditions and has been quizzed extensively.
His family claimed that there were no official translators in the room during the early stages of the interrogation.
Albert and Tina said official translators were not in the room until March 12.
They said that he was also quizzed for long hours.
Timeline of Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance
SUDIKSHA Konanki, 20, disappeared during a spring break trip to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
Here’s a timeline of her last known movements:
- On March 6 at 3 am, Konanki and her five friends were seen dancing at Riu Republica Resort’s disco
- At around 4 am, surveillance captured the group leaving the resort with Joshua Riibe, a 24-year-old from Iowa who they met on the trip
- At around 5:50 am, Konanki’s friends left the beach and headed home, but the now-missing student and Riibe stayed
- Riibe told cops that he passed out on the beach at some point after that, and when he woke up, Konanki was gone
- Konanki was reported missing at 4 pm later that evening by her friends
Authorities are still searching beaches in Punta Cana, hoping to find any leads. Recently, new surveillance footage has surfaced, showing Konanki seemingly getting sick at a bar.
Dive teams, K9 units, and drones have also been used in the search effort.
The video showed the college student leaving her drink at the bar before appearing to vomit in a grassy area, as reported by CDN-TV.
Footage also showed Riibe throwing up.
Konanki was last seen on the beach at around 4:50am local time, according to the missing person’s poster that was shared.
Five women and a man left the stretch of beach at approximately 5:55am, according to police.
Around four hours later, the man who was with Konanki left the beach.
Konanki’s friends reported her missing at 4pm on the afternoon of March 6.
FINAL MOMENTS
Riibe has claimed he and Konanki kissed, but he’s reportedly changed his version of events a number of times.
He claimed the kiss happened just before they were hit by a powerful wave.
Riibe said he swallowed seawater after being hit by the wave before vomiting.
He claimed that he passed out on the beach.
“I felt very sick and tired,” he reportedly told investigators.
“I lay down on a beach chair and fell asleep because I couldn’t go far.”
Riibe said the last time he saw Konanki was when they were in waist-deep seawater.
And, he thought she had grabbed her belongings and left the sand.
But, Riibe reportedly refused to answer eight questions during a grilling, according to Noticias Sin.
He claimed that his lawyers advised him not to answer the questions.
Cops found a white sarong and beige flip flops they believe belonged to Konanki on the beach.
There were no signs of violence, according to El Nacional.
Konanki vanished just three days after she arrived in the Dominican Republic.
But, her sudden disappearance sparked concerns she may have been kidnapped.
Her father, Subbarayudu, urged cops to broaden their search to factor in potential scenarios.
