Person of interest identified in Sudiksha Konanki disappearance in Dominican Republic

Jami Ganz, New York Daily News on Mar 12, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

A young man has been identified as a “person of interest” in the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh student who disappeared last week while enjoying spring break with friends last week in the Dominican Republic.

Joshua Riibe, 24, has been named a “person of interest” in the disappearance of 20-year-old Konanki, an Indian citizen and Virginia resident, a Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson confirmed to the Daily News.

Konanki was last seen walking on a beach with a group at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana in the at around 4:15 a.m. March 6, according to a Dominican Republic National Police press release. The release noted that Konanki and her companions were captured on surveillance cameras at the time.

Riibe, a U.S. citizen, was vacationing in Punta Cana separately from the group with which Konanki was traveling, according to LCSO.

No charges have been filed against Riibe or anyone else at this time. The spokesperson clarified that, as this is not currently a criminal investigation, Riibe is not a suspect, but is a person of interest as he “may have been the last one to see” Konanki.

In a LCSO release shared Monday, the Sheriff’s Office said it continues to assist and support U.S. federal law enforcement agencies, who are working with the Dominican National Police and others to locate Konanki and determine “what may have happened to her.”

The spokesperson added that the “person of interest” designation is being used in collaboration with the FBI.

Dominican authorities added that the unidentified young man who subsequently entered the waters of the beach was also interviewed. It’s unclear whether that man was Riibe.

Konanki was traveling with five other female students at the time of her disappearance, including a fellow resident of Virginia’s Loudoun County, as LCSO previously told ABC News.

Konanki had been at a nightclub before going with six others to the beach, where she is believed to have drowned, as three Dominican officials involved in the investigation told ABC News.

Citing a local police report, the outlet reports that all but Konanki and one man returned to their hotel just before 6 a.m. Konanki and the man then went to swim and were caught in a large wave, according to the police report.

The U.S. embassy in the Dominican Republic first contacted the Public Ministry on March 7.

A national police spokesperson told ABC News that Konanki’s friends didn’t realize she was missing until 4 p.m. that day, having gone on an excursion. The friends have been questioned but have not been charged, per officials.