Chilling new surveillance footage reveals lacking College of Pittsburgh pupil Sudiksha Konanki staggering whereas strolling arm-in-arm with an Iowa man recognized as a “person of interest” in her disappearance — because the seek for the co-ed enters a sixth day.
Joshua Steven Riibe of tiny Rock Rapids has been recognized because the final particular person to see the 20-year-old pupil alive early on March 6 on the upscale Punta Cana resort, based on native authorities.
The brand new footage reveals the pair strolling close to the seaside round 4:15 a.m., at one level additionally seen holding palms whereas Konanki’s spring-break associates stroll close by, based on Noticias SIN.
Riibe, in a muscle shirt, holds out his telephone, seemingly taking selfies because the pair struggles to stroll in a straight line, with the still-missing pupil showing to stagger at instances.
The Dominican Republic Nationwide Police reported that Konanki, from Virginia, and her friends spilled out onto the seaside from a disco on the Riu Republica Resort by an influence outage.
Many of the group left the seaside round 5:50 a.m., leaving Riibe and Konanki alone, police mentioned.
Based on native experiences, Riibe has given three accounts of what occurred subsequent, saying he obtained out of the tough surf and handed out drunk on the seaside — solely to wake to search out that Konanki was gone.
In an e mail to The Put up on Wednesday, Chad Quinn, a spokesman for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Workplace in Konanki’s hometown, confirmed Riibe was an individual of curiosity within the case, however cautioned towards leaping to conclusions.
“This is not at this time a criminal investigation, so to be clear, he is not a suspect,” Quinn mentioned. “It’s our understanding that he’s a US citizen who was vacationing in Punta Cana, not a part of the group touring with the lacking particular person.
A lot of folks have been interviewed by the Dominican Nationwide Police with the help of the FBI and that is persevering with. Our workplace may have a presence on the bottom at the moment too.”
Authorities within the Caribbean island mentioned roughly 300 regulation enforcement personnel are concerned within the search, together with the FBI, the company confirmed this week. The tough surf has sophisticated the hunt.
Native police initially recommended Konanki drowned throughout the early morning swim. Nonetheless, her household believes she is against the law sufferer — and will have been kidnapped.
In a press launch, nationwide police officers wouldn’t affirm experiences that Riibe’s passport has been seized.
Riibe’s father couldn’t be reached for remark Wednesday. He declined to touch upon the case when reached by The Put up earlier this week.
