Missing Univ. of Pittsburgh student believed to have died by drowning in Dominican Republic
A University of Pittsburgh student who was reported missing after traveling to the Dominican Republic last week is believed to have died by drowning, officials confirmed to ABC News.
The student has been identified as Sudiksha Konanki, a legal permanent resident of the United States and an Indian citizen. She was one of six female students traveling in Punta Cana, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office.
Konanki and one of the other students were Loudoun County, Virginia, residents, the sheriff's office said.
Three Dominican officials involved in the investigation told ABC News that Konanki was walking on the beach with six people on March 5, after spending time at a nightclub, shortly before she is believed to have drowned in the ocean.
Most of the group went back to the hotel at approximately 5:55 a.m. But one man stayed with her on the beach, according to a Dominican Republic investigative police report.
She and that person went for a swim and were caught by a big wave, the police report said.
The last time Konanki was seen on the beach on security camera footage was around 4:15 a.m. on March 6, the Dominican Republic Public Ministry told ABC News.
Her friends went on an excursion that day and didn’t realize she was missing until 4 p.m., a spokesperson for the national police confirmed.
The Public Ministry reported that it was first contacted by the U.S. embassy in the Dominican Republic the next day, on March 7.
In the ensuing days, a timestamp discrepancy was identified in the security camera footage, putting the man that Konanki was last seen with heading back to his room at approximately 8:55 a.m. -- not 9:55 a.m. as originally believed.
A national police spokesperson said on Tuesday that the man was cooperating with the investigation, but they would not rule him out as a suspect -- saying that was up to prosecutors. They also would not confirm if the man would be allowed to leave the country.
Officials said the missing student’s six friends had also been questioned by police and were not charged with anything.
Outside of Konanki, her friends and the man that is being interviewed by police, no outside participants are believed to have been involved with the suspected drowning incident, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.
