One of the last people to see Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki before she vanished in the Dominican Republic told police that he passed out drunk on the beach — and when he woke up, she was gone, according to local reports.
The unnamed witness told authorities that he had gone to the Punta Cana beach with the 20-year-old coed and others, but fell asleep and went back to his room when he woke up alone last Thursday morning, according to El Nacional.
Another companion, identified as Joshua Stevem Ribe, told police that he had been swimming with Konanki in the ocean when they were blasted by strong waves and only he was able to get back to land safely.
Given amount of time she’s been missing, the chances of finding her alive are “minimal,” Juan Salas, the director of The Dominican Republic’s civil defense, told Listin Diario.
Police have suggested the University of Pittsburgh pre-med student likely drowned after jumping in the ocean in a brown bikini sometime after 4 a.m. at the Riu Republic Resort, but her family is not convinced.
Her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, filed a complaint Monday seeking to expand search efforts over his “growing suspicion” that she could be the victim of kidnapping since her body never washed ashore.
“She’s not found, so we’re asking them to investigate multiple options, like kidnapping or abduction,” he told WTOP-TV.
Officials have insisted there were no signs of foul play at the scene.
According to the complaint, Konanki’s “belongings, including personal items like her phone and wallet, were left with her friends, which is unusual because she always carried her phone with her.”
Konanki and others were spotted on surveillance footage near the beach shortly before she went missing.
Officials at the resort said her friends did not report her disappearance around 4 p.m. Thursday, roughly 12 hours after she was last seen.
A search for Konanki is still underway on Monday, with boats and aircraft scouring the sea and ATV’s combing the beach.
An Indian national from Chantilly, Virginia, she is described in missing posters as 5 feet 3 with black hair and brown eyes.
Konanki was staying at the resort with five other female students from Pitt, according to the sheriff’s office in Loudoun County, Virginia where she is from.
Agencies from Loudon County — where Konanki was from — along with the Indian Embassy in the Dominican Republic, have been assisting with the search. US federal agencies are also helping with the investigation.
