The final individual to see College of Pittsburgh pupil Sudiksha Konanki earlier than she vanished had his passport seized by authorities within the Dominican Republic, based on a brand new report.
Officers on the Caribbean island confiscated Joshua Riibe’s journey paperwork practically 10 days after Konanki was final seen with the 22-year-old Minnesota school senior on the seashore close to their RIU Lodge & Resort on March 6.
The Iowa native says he has been cooperating with authorities as they proceed the seek for the 20-year-old Indian nationwide.
“I’m just trying to help them out,” he instructed NBC Information. “The ocean is a dangerous place.”
Attorneys for Riibe acknowledge his passport being confiscated. The St. Cloud State College pupil is paired with police escorts “permanently” and has been compelled to stay on the lodge through the investigation.
Riibe is believed to be the final individual to see Konanki earlier than she went lacking, saying the 2 had gone into the water throughout an in a single day escapade which included cuddling and kissing earlier than they had been met by tough waters.
“So no, he is not free to leave,” Riibe’s legal professionals instructed the outlet.
Riibe had been detained by police underneath “irregular conditions,” his mother and father Albert and Tina claimed.
Riibe was questioned by the nation’s legal professional common’s workplace, sharing particulars of the in a single day journey the 2 shared on the seashore on March 6 at round 4 a.m.
Surveillance footage captured the 2 strolling arm-in-arm alongside mates because the group headed towards the seashore.
The chums remained there till round 5:50 a.m. once they headed again to the lodge, leaving Riibe and Konanki behind.
Comply with the newest on the seek for lacking Pitt pupil Sudiksha Konanki:
The newly fashioned duo had ventured out into waist-deep waters earlier than they had been swept out to sea by an enormous wave.
The pair struggled to resurface as Riibe claimed to have grabbed Konanki and introduced her again nearer to shore, swallowing sea water within the second.
“I was a lifesaver. I grabbed her and pulled her out,” he instructed authorities based on a transcript of the interview obtained by Dominican Republic’s Noticas Sin.
After getting them again to knee-deep water, Riibe says he made his means onto the seashore the place he threw up due to the salt water he had ingested.
Riibe claimed his final recollection of Konanki was her strolling at an angle by way of the water over to the place she positioned her belongings earlier than going into the water.
“The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK,” he mentioned. “I didn’t hear her reply as a result of I began vomiting all the ocean water I had swallowed.
Riibe had handed out on the seashore earlier than waking up hours later and returning to his room.
Konanki was reported lacking by the buddies she traveled with at round 4 p.m.
Officers later found clothes believed to belong to Konanki round a set of seashore chairs on the resort.
A white netted sarong draped over a seashore chair and a pair of beige flip-flops coated with sand subsequent to the leg of the sunlounger had been uncovered through the investigation, based on images obtained by CDN.
The beachwear, which bears a placing resemblance to the clothes the Virginia native was final seen carrying in surveillance footage taken on the evening she disappeared, reveals no indicators of tampering, authorities instructed the outlet.
Police haven’t filed any prices within the case.
