FOLLOWING THE LEAD

Person of Interest ID’ed in Missing Spring Breaker Case

Surveillance footage suggests that Sudiksha Konanki stayed back at the beach with people she had just met on her trip.

A person of interest has surfaced after a weeklong search for the missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki according to an official in the U.S, NBC News reported. The 20-year-old vanished on March 6 at 4:15 a.m. in Punta Cana during her spring break trip in the Dominican Republic. Surveillance camera footage, obtained by Dominican news outlet Noticias SIN, shows the biology student and her friends entering the beach area of RIU Republic Resort, in what might be her last known movements. A spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, where Konanki is from, told NBC News on Wednesday that the U.S. side of the investigation —which is assisting the Dominican Republic authorities despite not having jurisdiction—has found a person of interest who has been interview in regards to the case. “This is not the same thing as a suspect as this is not a criminal matter. It is still a missing person case,” the spokesperson said. According to the sheriff’s office, Konanki’s friends returned to Hotel Riu República, where they were staying after 40 minutes but she stayed back with people she had met on the trip who were not from her college. Dominican Republic authorities have not confirmed if this is a person of interest to them too. But, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader confirmed at a news conference on Monday that one of the last people in contact with Konanki said “that a wave hit them while they were on the beach and caused some kind of situation,” citing local reports. Meanwhile, the police have said that there was no sign of blood or violence on the beach.