Five days after the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki, an Indian-origin student in the US, the hometown sheriff’ department has now named a person of interest in the case, a Fox News report said. Loudoun County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Thomas Julia told Fox News Digital that this person of interest is Joshua Riibe.
The report suggests that the case is still being pursued as missing person case and not a criminal case, and that the authorities have interrogated Riibe at length.
Sudiksha Konanki, a junior pre-medical student of University of Pittsburgh, disappeared in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic during a spring break vacation. According to Fox News’ report, Konanki was last captured roaming in a surveillance footage where she was seen roaming with her friends at the resort.
The Dominican National Police in a statement said that Konanki was seen entering the beach at the Riu República Hotel in Punta Cana after 4:15 am on last Thursday, Fox News said.
Sudiksha Konanki Missing: What does the surveillance footage show?
Surveillance video, obtained by Noticias SIN, showed a group walking toward the beach at the five-star resort. The video showed Konanki with two men and three women. The 20-year-old was seen holding onto a blonde man, who authorities later identified as a “male friend”, Fox News reported.
Authorities mentioned that the man with Konanki around the time of her disappearance is being investigated, the report said. It’s unclear who the man is, but police said he was in the water at the same beach. They are questioning him to confirm his version of what happened, according to a translation of a Spanish-language statement.
The footage shows the last time Konkani was seen before she mysteriously disappeared. Her disappearance has caused a lot of speculation about what happened, leading both Dominican Republic and US law enforcement to investigate her whereabouts.