Police have shared a major update in the search for a Pittsburgh student who went missing during Spring Break.
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was on a spring break vacation with five friends at the Riu Republic Resort in Punta Cana when she vanished on March 6.
She was last seen on a beach with a man before she disappeared, and no trace of her has yet been found despite an extensive search.
Authorities in Virginia have now reportedly identified a 24-year-old man as a person of interest in connection to the pre-med student's disappearance.
The sheriff’s office in Loudoun County, where Konanki is from, told Fox News Digital that Iowa resident Joshua Ribe “has been interviewed at length” but has not been accused of foul play, and that Konanki's disappearance remains a missing persons case.
Thomas Julia, spokesperson for the sheriff, told the outlet: "Sheriff [Michael] Chapman wants to make sure the investigation is comprehensive and includes all possible assets and techniques.
"We are working closely with the FBI on all of this, and they are working with the Dominican National Police."
Ribe is believed to be the last person to have seen Konanki and the pair was captured on surveillance footage walking with a group of friends towards the beach area at around 4.15AM, according to the Dominican Republic National Police.
Footage obtained by Noticias SIN allegedly showed Konanki appearing to cling to Ribe, who had also been staying at the resort, as the group walked along together.
The rest of the group called it a night shortly after and headed back to their hotel, leaving Konanki and Ribe on the beach, according to local reports.
Ribe is said to have given the police three different accounts of what happened that evening after the pair were left alone together.
He first told authorities that he'd thrown up from the rough waves and asked Konanki if she was ok before he went back to the shore, according to local news.
The second account he gave said that he'd left the water after feeling sick, and that he last saw Konanki standing in the knee-deep water before he passed out.
He then allegedly said that he saw Konanki walking along the shore before he passed out on the sand.
Dominican Police have not said whether they suspect foul play in Konanki's disappearance but said Ribe is cooperating with their investigation.
Local authorities have said the student from Chantilly, Virginia, who is an Indian national, is believed to have drowned after jumping into the ocean.
Her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, has urged authorities not to rule out that she was a victim of a crime or kidnapping, as her body has not washed to the shore.
Police in Punta Cana said on Tuesday that they are re-interviewing the five people Konanki had traveled with, as well as hotel employees and others who were with her in the early hours before her disappearance.
Officials said the investigation, which is in its sixth day, is now being led by a "high-level commission" of local and US agencies, including the FBI.
Konanki is described as 5 foot 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes, and was wearing a brown bikini at the time of her disappearance.