Indian-origin student disappears: 24-year old named ‘person of interest’ after Sudiksha Konanki seen ‘clinging to Joshua Ribe’
Authorities in Virginia have named a 24-year-old Iowa man as a “person of interest” in the mysterious disappearance of Indian-origin, University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki during her spring break trip to the Dominican Republic.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, based in Konanki’s hometown of Chantilly, revealed that Joshua Ribe, identified from surveillance footage, has been “interviewed at length” but has not been accused of any wrongdoing, as reported by NY Post. The office is collaborating with the FBI and Dominican authorities as the search for the missing 20-year-old continues.
Read more:FBI joins search for missing Indian-origin student Sudiksha Konanki in US as parents plead for answers
Konanki, a pre-med student, vanished on March 6 while vacationing with five friends at the Riu Republic Resort in Punta Cana. Surveillance footage obtained by Dominican media outlet Noticias SIN shows Konanki and Ribe walking toward the beach around 4.15 am with a group of friends. The footage also appears to show Konanki clinging to Ribe as they made their way to the shoreline.
According to reports, most of the group eventually returned to the hotel, leaving Konanki alone on the beach with Ribe. Ribe, who was visiting the Dominican Republic from Iowa, reportedly gave authorities three conflicting accounts of the night’s events.
In his initial statement, Ribe claimed he became ill from the rough surf and returned to shore after checking on Konanki. In a second version, he said he left the water due to stomach pain and last saw her in knee-deep surf before he passed out. In a third account, he told investigators he saw Konanki walking along the shoreline before he lost consciousness on the sand.
Despite these inconsistencies, Dominican authorities have not classified Ribe as a suspect and stated he is cooperating with their investigation.
Foul play?
Local police have suggested that Konanki may have drowned after entering the ocean, but her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, has urged authorities to expand their search efforts. He shared “growing suspicion” that his daughter may have been kidnapped, noting that no body has washed ashore.
A private investigator with experience in missing case of another high school student Natalee Holloway (2005) case has volunteered his services to assist in locating missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, suspecting potential abduction.
Speaking to NewsNation on Monday night, TJ Ward, who previously assisted the Holloway family during their daughter’s disappearance in Aruba two decades ago, confirmed he had reached out to the Konanki family to aid in the search efforts in the Dominican Republic while sharing concerns about the nature of Sudiksha’s disappearance.
In his interview with Fox News, Ward dismissed the possibility of drowning, stating, “I don’t think that she drowned in the ocean,” and added that “drowning would be one of the last things I think of right now.” “I totally believe that somebody knows something, where she is, or somebody took her away, or somebody’s holding her somewhere.”
As the speculations continue to swirl around the case, the Dominican Republic National Police are now re-interviewing Konanki’s travel companions, hotel staff, and others who were present during the early morning hours. A high-level commission involving both US and Dominican agencies, including the FBI, is leading the investigation.
As the search enters its fifth day, authorities are distributing missing person posters describing Konanki as 5-foot-3 with black hair and brown eyes. Family and friends remain desperate for answers as the investigation continues to unfold.
