Sudiksha Konanki’s parents have been forced to come to terms with their daughter’s disappearance, reverting to the likelihood that she drowned.
The 20-year-old’s parents Subbarayudu and SreeDevi Konanki confirmed on Tuesday that they now believe they lost their daughter to the unpredictable ocean when she was strolling on the beach early on the morning of March 6, the New York Post reported.
“Both sides of the authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides of the authorities have clarified the person of interest was not a suspect from the beginning,” Subbarayudu Konanki, the student’s father, told the Post.
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“It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned,” he added. “This is incredibly difficult for us to process.”
Joshua Riibe, who the police identified as a person of interest, was in court Tuesday afternoon to determine if he will be allowed to return home to the U.S.
The Konanki parents were not initially convinced that their daughter had drowned during the early stages of the investigation. Subbarayudu Konanki, specifically was convinced that his daughter may have been abducted and filed a complaint with Dominican authorities asking for a broader investigation.
“It’s four days, and if she was in water, she would likely have been strewn to shore,” Konanki told WTOP at the time. “She’s not found, so we’re asking them to investigate multiple options, like kidnapping or abduction.”
This follows her family’s letter sent to both Dominican and Virginian authorities, who investigated her case, “requesting declaration of death,” NBC News reported.
The University of Pittsburgh pre-med student went missing in the Dominican Republic during a spring break trip with friends. Although sporadic surveillance camera footage showed her at the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana beach, bar and lobby, the last known person to see her alive was Riibe.
The Iowan allegedly shared a walk and kiss with Konanki before the pair was overpowered by a strong wave that swept them further into the ocean, by Riibe’s account.
In what became the stand alone account in a series of conflicting stories, Riibe claimed that he attempted to save himself and Konanki using his former lifeguard experience. He told police “I was getting tired. I realized she was getting tired too. I grabbed her and pulled her out.”
“When I finally reached the ground on the beach, I held her in front of me. She wasn’t out of the water, she was knee-deep and walking at an angle out the water,” the St. Cloud State University senior insisted.
He said he started to vomit all the water he had ingested shortly after and when he looked back up he alleged that she was gone, and so he assumed she had left.
Although he has not been charged with anything, Riibe has remained the sole person of interest in Konanki’s disappearance and hasn’t been allowed to leave the Dominican Republic as police continue investigating
His lawyers filed a legal “habeas corpus” request on Monday, requesting that the 22-year-old whose passport has been confiscated be allowed to return to the U.S. since he hasn’t been charged with any wrongdoing.
