DR, Sudiksha Konanki, 20, Punta Cana, 6 March 2025

[Marfe]

If they were aware of all of the "red flags" on the beach though (which according to some authorities were blatantly obvious) don't you think he would be a little concerned or cautious? They're on the beach drunk at 5am in the pitch dark... I wouldn't just "assume" someone is just dandy in the water by themselves...

As you said, he was drunk too. And sick. So I wouldn't assume an awful lot went through his mind at that point.

 

[Marfe]

I agree that he should have notified someone, but he probably wasn’t thinking straight since he was drunk. Maybe he thought she would come back up. I don’t know and can’t answer that.

<modsnip - SM rumor removed> But he may have realized that he couldn’t save her. Apparently there was high waves that night [per post #338]. Not easy swimming conditions even for a sober person. Now a sober person would have reported it right away, but drunk people don’t make good decisions.

JMO

Replying to you - but not aimed at you personally Himako14.

I keep seeing this: he should have notified someone. But of what? Honest question, because I read the same articles y'all did and I did not once see it stated he saw her going down and did nothing. I read they both got knocked around by waves. Did he report that? no. He passed out. I did not read anywhere that he got out, she stayed in the water, and he then saw her being drug down by a wave and drown.

If anyone read that, can they link that here? Otherwise we are just repeating gossip and misunderstandings, IMOO

 

[Cryptic]

He was drunk but do we really know how drunk she is/was? We have no footage of her stumbling around, I don't think. Are we hearing of what friends are saying and other witnesses of how intoxicated? Just curious. All this is just mo, but accidents happen of course, but glad they are looking into everything.

As intoxication levels other than "does not drink" and "stumbling drunk" can be a little subjective, it might be hard to hazard a guess.

That aside, she is a pre-med major. People in this major tend to have a lot of self discipline, even on vacation. I would not be surprised if she took study material of some sort with her.

Subjectively I am going with the odds and would peg her as moderately intoxicated at worst. I have known some pre med majors. Though I have not seen many on vacation or at parties, I suspect that a solid majority limit their dosage of alcohol to moderate intoxication- and no more.

But... exceptions undoubtably exist for a variety of reasons. One of which would be "its a vacation". But, even still, going with the odds....

 

[armchairagatha]

At his weight and prior experience with drinking, how many drinks would he have needed before he was truly drunk to the point of throwing up? Assuming she was not a regular drinker, her tolerance level would have been much lower. I would not be surprised if she was “drunk” with just 2 drinks. He would probably need 5 or more to get to the same level of drunkenness?

 

[tarabull]

He may have been puking after having nearly drowned....moo.

 

[whitelilac]

A couple more pieces of info:
Sudiksha also sings a capella in a group at university.
"National Police launched a search effort Friday morning after it learned Konanki was missing, using drones, helicopters, divers, boats and canine units." (Maybe in the reef area.)
"The hotel said that beach access is always open and that security guards are stationed around the hotel and the area. " (I'm reading this as always)
"National Police said Thursday morning that they do not use the term "person of interest" in their investigations and that no one is considered a suspect at this point. "
"National Police sent teams to monitor the beach overnight at least twice to watch how the water moves to see where a body would drift if someone drowned and to see where the waves crash."
"... the search (area) was moving from the Riu Republic Resort to Macao Beach."
"She did not appear to have a history of excessive drinking.."
bbm

What to know about the search for the missing University of Pittsburgh student

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, disappeared in the early hours of March 6 while on spring break with friends in the Dominican Republic, setting off a search.

www.nbcnews.com

 

[tarabull]

Bavaro Beach to Playa Macao

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[branmuffin]

The way some of the major news shows are framing the story and referring to him is making me very uncomfortable. It seems intentional to make the story juicy and is likely to damage his reputation and life.
I will be glad to eat my words if it turns out there is involvement, but much of this seems very reckless.
*My opinions.

I think it's disgraceful. There is absolutely no proof that this guy had anything to do with SK's disappearance. Based on the last images we had of her she was walking unsteadily with her arm around a man and her two friends were right there. They both appeared drunk. We have no idea whether this is the first time or the fifth time they were together. Why do so many people believe he's involved in her disappearance? Just because she not here and he is? That is pretty shaky evidence.

 

[nightowl2728]

I still think its irresponable to name him. They could say " we have interviewed the last person who saw her or was with her" He IS or ISN'T cooperating kind of thing. Does he have any history or legal issues, agressiveness that is on record? I haven't read anything so I'm actually asking this. I think putting his name out without any indication of evidence this early isn't right and could cause more damage to an actual case if one would come up. This is just MO

Edit to add: I may be handling this with kid gloves I don't know, I just was so shocked when I saw they named him it actually ticked me off, normally LE keeps as much info in house until they benefit from sharing.

Maybe LE knows more than they have told us and he is a suspect?

 

[Sillybilly]

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[nightowl2728]

Replying to you - but not aimed at you personally Himako14.

I keep seeing this: he should have notified someone. But of what? Honest question, because I read the same articles y'all did and I did not once see it stated he saw her going down and did nothing. I read they both got knocked around by waves. Did he report that? no. He passed out. I did not read anywhere that he got out, she stayed in the water, and he then saw her being drug down by a wave and drown.

If anyone read that, can they link that here? Otherwise we are just repeating gossip and misunderstandings, IMOO

I'm having trouble finding the articles because most sites have updated the story, but this is from Joshua Riibe under round-the-clock police surveillance in Punta Cana -

"He told investigators from the Ministerio Publico that the pair waded into the water together before he trudged back to the shore alone, threw up and fell asleep on a sun lounger.
According to local media, Riibe offered differing accounts of what happened, initially claiming that she called out to him from the waves to see if he was OK before stating that he last saw her walking parallel to the shore in knee-deep water.
Sources close to the investigation tell DailyMail.com that's probably because different translators were used for his three interviews." [emphasis added]

This is combined with circumstantial information that there were red flags up due to water conditions, it was pitch black, and they were both drunk. I guess my personal opinion is that a reasonable person wouldn't assume she was "totally fine" after: 1) he himself was so drunk he fell asleep on the beach and didn't know where she was (she was likely very drunk too), 2) the above water/lighting conditions, and 3) multiple people had drowned there two months ago (this is my assumption they knew about that).

According to the above article, JR is still being held there under round the clock police surveillance, and there are no written accounts anywhere that he tried to locate her after in any way (if he did, doesn't it seem like LE would release that information or similar to the public to avoid the speculation?) So I don't think it's totally wild to have some speculation (on a websleuths website) about his possible motives, actions, state of mind, etc. including levels of *possible* culpability. Of course in line with the rules about not speculating on someone who isn't named a POI, but he has been named as such.

 

[Cryptic]

He would probably need 5 or more to get to the same level of drunkenness?

Starting with a large, athletic male, then adding a guess based on a vague and fuzzy benchmark of say:

- Clearly no stranger to alcohol, but not a routine binge drinker either....

I would guess: 5-6 resort drinks (important idea) to get pleasantly buzzed. 8-10 to get moderately intoxicated. 12-15 to get staggering drunk, black out approaching. But.... factor in that he would also be metabolizing one drink an hour. So, the number of drinks goes up.

I am thinking that the resort drinks are relatively watered. Likewise, young males in good physical condition can develop a pretty good tolerance with out the need for years of prior "experience".

And.... I suspect the resort waiters and waitresses might not come around all that fast to dispense yet another round of free drinks. So there could be another time factor in addition to metabolization.

Welcoming any other opinions.....

 

[Sherbec314]

Idk i feel the fact she went to the beach with 3 people 2 of them came back right away without her and these girls were her Friends btw, then it's just her and another male and he doesnt return until 5 hours later saying as soon as they go for a swim he becomes nauseous theows up passes out on a beach chair returns to resort without the shirt and shoes he was seen wearing when he left with her and her friends SOMETHING IS WAY OFF IM NOT TALKING ABOUT THE TIDES EITHER LADIES AND GENTS . Why is he saying he don't know what happened then changed it into she got swept away by the waves but he doesnt know what happened to her. I have a horrible feeling that the fact her clothes were found his wasnt tells me the math isnt mathing wheres is his shirt and shoes and why are they absent from his hands and where he usually wears them? I feel like he did SOMETHING to that beautiful girl cause he wouldnt be makibg different things up and changing his story plus the fact it took until 4pm from 9:55 am to report anything happened so i'm pretty sure SOMETHING happened between him and her and he made sure she couldnt tell anyone

Here is an article with a current photo matching the description of what she was wearing when she was last seen. The article also mentions that the resort had been without power, water or food for days.

Edited to add that this is the same article I posted before, but it has been updated with the new picture & more info on resort.
View attachment 569496

University of Pittsburgh student vanishes during Spring break in DR

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, a student at the University of Pittsburgh, mysteriously vanished while traveling for Spring Break at Riu Republica Resort in the Dominican Republic.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[armchairagatha]

Starting with a large, athletic male, then adding a guess based on a vague and fuzzy benchmark of say:

- Clearly no stranger to alcohol, but not a routine binge drinker either....

I would guess: 5-6 resort (key concept) drinks to get pleasantly buzzed. 8-10 to get moderately intoxicated. 12-15 to get staggering drunk, black out approaching. But.... factor in that he would also be metabolizing one drink an hour. So, the number of drinks goes up.

I am thinking that the resort drinks are relatively watered. Likewise, young males in good physical condition can develop a pretty good tolerance with out the need for years of prior "experience".

And.... I suspect the resort waiters and waitresses might not come around all that fast to dispense yet another round of free drinks. So there could be another time factor in addition to metabolization.

Welcoming any other opinions.....

15 to get as intoxicated as he says he was? Do we really think he would have had that many?

 

[branmuffin]

I agree. LE usually keeps things close to the vest and here it's like someone else is running the narrative. IMO

I think it has a lot to do with the main industry in these countries. They rely so heavily on tourism any whiff of wrongdoing or the vulnerability of tourists in their country means they go into overdrive to either deny or try to find a scapegoat to deflect any type of responsibility.

The reality is that most people who end up dead in foreign countries or in areas they aren't familiar with die because of misadventure.

Look at Riley Strain, we had a front row seat how he spent his last hour from video cameras as he walked around drunk and disoriented, falling down and hitting his head and yet so many thought his death was suspect. I don't get why so many people think guys who get drunk and end up in a river is because someone else is responsible. These tragic events aren't because the person wanted to die, it's because they put themselves in a position that made them vulnerable not only by some bad actor but mostly because they got in a car drunk and ended up in a pond, or they sat on a deck railing and fell off a cruise ship. There's a website, but you can look at all the deaths of US citizens deaths overseas and overwhelmingly they are misadventure like car accidents, drownings, drug overdoses, or doing dumb things.

The fact that 4 and likely 5 people have drowned at this same beach in the last 2 months, it would be wise for the hotel to give strict warnings to each and every guest there, on arrival, in writing and verbally.
as per my cnn link above.

The beaches had red flags up and down the beach for people to see. They know what they are there for but people still ignore them because it looks like fun getting into an ocean with big waves.

 

[branmuffin]

agreed.

Also, that may have been taken out of context during an interview. Just my own suspicion though. As in he said something like : we got knocked down by waves. I had to vomit and walked out. Question: did you get out of the water together? Answer: No, I ran out, vomited. Saw her walking in the gulf towards where she left her clothes. That got interpreted as he left her behind in water after they got knocked about. He may not have thought she needed saving at all as he saw her walking before passing out. Now people are saying he left her knocked down and out and did not try help.

IMOO etc etc

He probably swallowed a whole bunch of seawater.

 

[branmuffin]

Presuming she wanted to keep her clothes dry and placed them above the surf line, it would have needed to of been a tremendous wave to carry her out.

Such waves do occur on Pacific beaches and have drowned a number of people. I dont know how often they occur in the Gulf of Mexico ( Yikes, politics, but that is the historical name before there was a "Mexico" or a "United States" as nations).

I agree, with your concerns about jumping to a conclusion of "presumed guilty".

But.... its also equally detrimental to operate under: Well, she could have drowned. So, nobody should question the POIs claims about anything.

Dominican Republic has the Caribbean sea south and the Atlantic north.

 

[katsrfun]

15 to get as intoxicated as he says he was? Do we really think he would have had that many?

When I first moved to South Florida in my late teens, I was enchanted with the warm ocean water, the sun, and just being here, even though it wasn't vacation, it felt like one. One day, i stupidly had been drinking and me and a girlfriend decided to go to the beach. Well, the warm water was irresistible, and we both had a pretty good buzz. The red flags were flying, but we just wanted to get wet. We started talking and paying no attention. We got caught in a rip and suddenly we were in deep water, and getting thrown around by the waves. We both were screaming when we could. I hit the bottom hard, and I didn't know which way was up. I finally quit struggling and got out of the rip. The waves carried me to shore, and it was terrible. I just laid in the sand throwing up. I was sick, literally in bed for three days, the terror, the banging around of the waves, struggling, all made my entire being just lost. But when I got to shore, the lifeguard finally came around, and I sent him out for my friend. My point being, I can see him being totally disoriented after being tossed by the waves. It happens and you lose your bearings quickly. He probably did nothing, and she got caught in the rip. I just don't think it is right to blame him. If my girlfriend was unable to get out of the rip on her own, would I be blamed for killing her. Just MOO. I pray to God they find her. Katt

 

[vls12345]

If it was dark, how easy was it to see the red flag warnings? How are they posted? At what intervals? Are they along the paths from the resort to the ocean? How long had the red flags been up? Is it possible that people on the beach in the dark during that early morning might not have seen the red flags?

I think it's possible the group didn't notice the red flag warnings for various reasons (dark, inebriated, etc.). Plus, I think visitors to beaches don't always fully comprehend the dangers of the ocean. They are on break for a few days or week at the beach & they want to make the most of their time. In my personal experience (lots of times around beaches), tourists are just not tuned in to the dangers, including things like red flag warnings.

I feel like this is a tragic accident & I hope they can find her so her family can properly mourn.

All imo.

 

[branmuffin]

I don't mean to discredit this statement BUT haven't 5 (potentially 6 now) people drowned within the last 3 months? Is this really a safe island?

From 2020 to 2022 over 4500 people drowned in the US EACH of those years. Not a cumulative total but each year.

US drowning deaths rising for first time in decades

The U.S. generally has about 4,000 drowning deaths per year, but that number has risen dramatically over the past four years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

www.foxweather.com

CDC Newsroom

Press releases, advisories, telebriefings, transcripts and archives.

www.cdc.gov

If you see someone drowning the best thing to do is to find something to help them, a branch, a life ring, a rope but you don't attempt to help them yourself unless you are trained because the chances of you drowning are now just as great since drowning people try to climb on you to get out of the water. My husband was a trained lifeguard who jumped off a boat to save an extremely drunk person who fell in the water. The person could swim but was so inebriated he was panicking and trying to grab my husband and the only way he could help him was to punch him in the face to stun him to get him to the life ring otherwise they both would have drowned.

People can't be criminally liable if they don't help someone struggling in the water. How many times have people drowned trying to save their kids, their dogs, or even a stranger.