Family of missing Pitt student reportedly asks authorities to have her declared dead

Megan Guza, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Mar 18, 2025

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The family of missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, who disappeared nearly two weeks ago in the Dominican Republic, believes the 20-year-old drowned near her Punta Cana resort and has asked authorities to declare her dead, according to a letter from the family.

In the letter, shared by a source close to the investigation Tuesday with the Post-Gazette, Konanki’s parents wrote that Dominican authorities believe their daughter drowned early March 6 during a spring break trip to Punta Cana.

“Her clothes were discovered on a beach near where she was last seen. The individual last seen with her is cooperating with the investigation,” Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki wrote, “and no evidence of foul play has been found.

“Given these circumstances, and after much deliberation, we request that the police department proceed with the legal declaration of her death.”

Konanki, a pre-med student, seemingly vanished March 6 from the beach near the resort, where she and five friends were spending spring break. She was last seen on the beach shortly before 5 a.m., and authorities from the Dominican Republic and United States have spent a week conducting extensive searches via land, sea and air to no avail.

Joshua Riibe, a college student in Minnesota believed to be the last person to see Konanki, has not been named a suspect in the Pitt student’s disappearance but the FBI and authorities in her home county in Virginia are calling him a “person of interest.” Riibe has not been accused of any wrongdoing, though authorities confiscated his passport Friday.

Security footage captured Konanki, her friends and two men walking toward the beach shortly after 4 a.m. on March 6.

Less than an hour later, footage showed the five friends and one of the men returning from the beach. The other man, believed to be Riibe, is seen returning from the beach with no sign of Konanki just before 9 a.m.

Konanki’s father in the days after her disappearance had called on investigators to expand their search to include the possibility of an abduction or other foul play. The family’s letter indicates they no longer believe that to be likely.

“Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence,” the family wrote. “While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.”

Authorities in Loudoun County, Va., said in a statement that the Konanki family expressed to their office, too, their belief that the Pitt student drowned.

“While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic,” Sheriff Michael Chapman said in a statement, “we will support the Konanki family in every way possible as we continue to review the evidence and information made available to us in the course of this investigation.”

Konanki addressed the media outside his family’s Virginia home as his wife sobbed by his side.

“We are coming to terms with the fact that our daughter has drowned,” he said, according to video from Fox5 in Washington, D.C.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday afternoon the status of the Dominican authorities’ investigation or whether Riibe would remain in custody.

Riibe’s parents said in a statement to Fox News on Friday their son has been detained “under irregular conditions,” alleging he had been through extensive questioning with no translator or legal counsel until March 12 — nearly a week after Konanki went missing.

"He has remained in his hotel room under police surveillance and has been repeatedly taken to the police station since March 6, where he has been interrogated for long hours,” Albert and Tina Riibe told the outlet through their attorneys.

According to transcribed reporting from Noticias SIN, Riibe told investigators that after the rest of the group left the beach that morning, he and Konanki went into the ocean and were hit with a massive wave.

As he swam the two of them toward shore, he said, he kept telling Konanki to breathe, swallowing seawater as he did.

When they were able to touch the sand, he allegedly said Konanki began walking away in knee-deep water. He said he asked if she was OK but didn’t hear her answers over his own vomiting.

After, he said, he “looked around and didn’t see anyone,” according to the report. “I thought she had grabbed her things and left.” He said he passed out on a beach chair until shortly before 10 a.m., collected his things from his friend’s room, and went to sleep.

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