20-year-old U.S. tourist missing in Dominican Republic, search underway
Global News
Authorities are searching on land, by air and in the ocean for the student, who went down to the beach with her friends but never returned.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic are searching on land, by air and in the ocean for a 20-year-old student from the University of Pittsburgh who disappeared last week on spring break in Punta Cana.
Sudiksha Konanki was last seen on a surveillance camera with seven other people entering the beach at the Riu República Hotel in Punta Cana around 4:15 a.m. on Thursday, according to a statement from the Dominican National Police.
Konanki, a resident of Virginia’s Loudoun County, had arrived in the Dominican Republic on Monday, March 3 with five other female students from the University of Pittsburgh. Police learned about her disappearance after 8 a.m. on Friday through a call from the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo.
Around 5:55 a.m. on Thursday, the surveillance camera captured five women and one man leaving the beach. Konanki is believed to have stayed behind with a young man, according to a local police source speaking with CNN.
Surveillance video also shows the man leaving the beach area at 9:55 a.m. with no sign of Konanki, the source told the outlet.
ABC News reports that Konanki is believed to have died by drowning. According to a police report, cited by ABC News, police said Konanki and the man she was with were caught by a big wave when they went for a swim.
Authorities have interviewed the man to find out details about what happened when the two were alone. The Dominican police are also broadening their investigation to corroborate the man’s story and questioning the people who were last seen with Konanki on Thursday.
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