American student, 20, vanishes in Dominican Republic: What we know

Authorities are continuing efforts to find Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student who has been missing for nearly a week while on a spring break trip in the Dominican Republic.

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The search involves joint efforts by authorities in the Dominican Republic, the United States and India. 

Konanki is a citizen of India and a permanent U.S. resident. She was one of six female University of Pittsburgh students traveling together for spring break. 

“My daughter is a very nice girl,” her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, told CNN. “She’s ambitious. She wanted to pursue a career in medicine.”

Sudiksha Konanki arrives in Punta Cana 

March 3: Authorities say Konanki arrived in the Dominican Republic for a spring break trip with five other students. 

The day Sudiksha went missing

March 6, 3 a.m: Konanki was seen on surveillance footage drinking with five women and two men in the Riu República Hotel, which is just north of Punta Cana in the La Altagracia district.

4:50 a.m.: Surveillance footage shows her walking on the beach at the resort. 

5:55 a.m.: Surveillance cameras captured five women and one man leaving the beach, but Konanki was not with them, the outlet reported. According to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Konanki was last seen wearing a brown bikini, big round earrings, a metal designer anklet on her right leg, yellow and steel bracelets on her right hand, and a multicolored beaded bracelet on her left hand.

4 p.m.: Konkani’s friends notified authorities after searching for her in the hotel. 

Konanki’s sarong-style cover up was found on a lounge chair on the beach. There were no signs of violence, a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

Authorities launch a search 

The Dominican Civil Defense said it, and a search and rescue unit have been working to locate Konanki. Drones and helicopters are also being used in the search.

“It is our understanding that the US is deploying considerable federal assets to locate the missing female, supporting the Dominican National Police,” the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said.

On Sunday, RIU Hotels released a statement, saying, in part, “From the moment her absence was reported, we have been working closely with the local authorities, including the police and the navy, to conduct a thorough search.”

Hotel officials also said that they have created an internal communications channel so that all employees across the five Punta Cana hotels can share any information they have with hotel leaders and police, according to NBC News.

Police interview witnesses 

The public prosecutor’s office said they interviewed Konanki’s friends. 

Police also spoke with a man in his 20s who was allegedly at the beach around the same time as Konanki and was the last person to see her. 

Surveillance video shows the man leaving the beach area alone at 9:55 a.m.

The man told police different versions of when he saw the student.

He told authorities they both went into the ocean, but he felt sick, got out of the water and fell asleep on a lounge chair, the outlet reported. 

He initially said Konanki may have been swept away by a wave but then gave another account, saying she may have left when he got out of the water. 

In a third account, he said he saw her walking along the beach with the water up to her knees in the direction of where she had left her clothes, the outlet reported. 

“It smells fishy, and it just doesn’t comport,” Former FBI agent Jennifer Coffindaffer told NewsNation of the man’s account. 

Family fears the worst

Authorities have not said there is any sign of foul play, and the leading theory among law enforcement is that she drowned, but her family is pushing investigators to consider the possibility she may have been abducted.

Loudoun County Sheriff Mike Chapman told NewsNation his department is “leaving no stone unturned” and has reached out to her parents, who are likely traveling to the Dominican Republic. 

Konanki’s father told CNN he wants local authorities to also investigate other possibilities, including whether this is a case of “kidnapping or human trafficking.”

“We don’t think she would be able to survive for more than three days in the water, and I think something else might’ve happened to her,” he said.

State Department issues travel warning 

According to CNN, the Dominican National Police formed a “high-level commission” to work on the investigation alongside the Attorney General’s Office, the FBI, and the International Liaison of the US embassy.

The U.S. State Department has issued a Level 2 travel advisory for the Dominican Republic, warning of violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide and sexual assault.