The devastated parents of missing Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki have opened up about what they think has happened to their daughter.
Konanki, a pre-med student from Virginia, vanished in the early hours of March 6 after going for a late-night swim with 22-year-old Joshua Riibe, a fellow American vacationing in Punta Cana.
Surveillance footage from the RIU República Hotel & Resort captured Konanki and her friends drinking in the hotel lobby before heading to the beach around 4:15AM with two men.
By 4:55AM, her friends and one of the men returned to the hotel, leaving Konanki alone with Riibe.
According to Riibe’s statement to authorities, the two went into the ocean, but the water was rough, and they struggled to stay afloat.
Riibe claimed he managed to pull them both out of the water but passed out on the beach shortly after.
"When I woke up, she was gone," he told investigators.
Her body has never been recovered.
Though he has not been charged with a crime, Riibe has remained a person of interest in the case and was prevented from leaving the Dominican Republic, per NBC News.
His passport was confiscated, and he had been under police surveillance at his hotel since March 6.
On Monday, March 17, Riibe’s lawyer filed a legal request demanding that he be allowed to return to the U.S.
During a court hearing on Tuesday, Riibe testified in his own defense, saying: "I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been 10 days. I want to go home. I want to see my family."
He also revealed that he had met with Konanki’s mother, who hugged him and thanked him for saving her "the first time."
Despite his plea, a judge did not immediately rule on his release.
After 12 days of uncertainty and mounting speculation, her parents have formally requested that Dominican authorities declare her legally dead, per the New York Post.
"It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned," said her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, from the family home in Chantilly, Virginia.
Initially, Konanki’s family had pushed for authorities to expand their investigation, raising concerns over the possibility of foul play.
However, after consulting with officials from both the Dominican Republic and the United States, they are now convinced that Sudiksha drowned in the rough waters of the Caribbean.
"Both sides of the authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides of the authorities have clarified the person of interest was not a suspect from the beginning," her father explained.
The family has also expressed trust in the investigation and acknowledged that legal steps must be followed to obtain a declaration of death.
For Sudiksha Konanki’s grieving family, the media attention surrounding her disappearance has made their loss even more difficult.
"We still have two young children to care for, and they’re at a very tender age," her father said.
"In light of this, we respectfully request some space, time, and privacy to focus on healing and helping our children recover as we try to move forward with our lives."