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

[slowpoke]

"I went to my friend’s room to get my phone, then went to my own room to sleep."

Officials interview key witness in disappearance of college student Sudiksha Konanki

New details are emerging in the case of a college student from Virginia who went missing in the Dominican Republic over a week ago.

www.fox5dc.com

Are you saying his friend may have had an extra key card for his (Riibe’s) hotel room? I guess I was under the assumption the two guy friends each had their own hotel rooms. Or maybe I am mistaken?

Is it one hotel room with two separate bedrooms for Riibe’s and his friend? I’m confused.
Moo

 

[Warwick7]

Are you saying his friend may have had an extra key card for his (Riibe’s) hotel room? I guess I was under the assumption the two guy friends each had their own hotel rooms. Or maybe I am mistaken?

Is it one hotel room with two separate bedrooms for Riibe’s and his friend? I’m confused.
Moo

We all are confused. I am just going by what's printed in msm...

 

[Dee10]

No idea what other people do but I will not even go in a pool with most jewelry because the water is not good for it and it could easily come off. Beach sand abrasion is not good for jewelry. Some of the pictures I saw online of this resort make it look as if the surf is kind of vigorous- here is one below from a random advert. Lots of wave action. However, we are now, as in many WS threads, asking what do people so when they are drunk, so.....

View attachment 571510

RIU Palace Bavaro Renovations

Your Dream Vacation Starts Here with Riu Palace Bavaro Reopening September 1, 2024 Re-Opening September 1st, 2024 The renovated Riu Palace Bavaro offers a wide variety […]

www.travelbybob.com

From your picture you can see how clear the water is + the waves are breaking on shore, but this may not always be the case. According to him, they were waste deep in the ocean & kissing. If you look at other pictures, you have to go out a long way to get waist deep JMO.

 

[Donswife48]

Joshua Riibe speaks out after being named as person of interest

Joshua Riibe, 22, was the last person seen with the 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh junior before she went missing from the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana in the early hours of March 6.

www.dailymail.co.uk

'I kept trying to get her to breathe, but that didn't allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water,' he said, adding he used to be a lifeguard.

Investigators in the Dominican Republic said they believe she drowned, and while they have questioned Riibe, they have not said he is suspected of any crime.

Seems to me he saved her life, and she didn't even stick around to see if he was going to be OK. Goes both ways, he would have died on the beach and she went back to her room, would that be OK.? JMO MOO

 

[whitelilac]

Its possible that guests had plastic bracelets from the hotel and any passing security guards would have checked. Left him alone if he did have one, otherwise probably would have moved him on. Just guessing

I was thinking more of him appearing in trouble, if he was all disheveled, sandy and unconscious on the sand. Then again, I guess this may be a common sight on Spring Break.

 

[Deleted member 356433]

his version in a nutshell is “WE were kissing, WE were accosted by a wave, I saved us, SHE left ME while I was vomiting from MY valiant efforts”. Kind of like a side jab at her. IMO

He was on vacation looking to cheat on his girlfriend. He had an impaired, isolated young lady that he wanted to cheat with. I think something didn’t go his way, or he got incredibly selfish and rough during their encounter. Intentionally or not, I believe he caused her death.

These perspectives would never, ever have occurred to me. I really hope you are wrong and SK didn’t encounter someone as extraordinarily cold, calculating, and sadistic as the one you are describing. What terrible luck that would be It’s a privilege to have access to so many POV in this forum.

 

[nerosleuth]

Here are my thoughts concerning the statement that JR made about him sleeping at the beach after his blackout.

Were there any confirmation that anyone saw him passed out on the beach that morning?

If someone saw him passed out on the beach, did anyone check to see if he was OK?

Was he at the edge of the water or away from the water, and was he face down or face up when he was passed out?

What is the hotel's policy regarding someone on the beach that is drunk and passed out?

Do they let that person sleep it off or is emergency services contacted regarding an unconscious person on the beach?

I'm thinking that the hotel would be concerned about potential liability issues concerning a person that is passed out on the beach.

Do we know if he was passed out on the sand, the edge of the water, or on a one of those beach recliners?
IF, on the sand, whether face up or face down, I wonder why no morning walkers, or security if there was any, didn't check him out. He may have had sand all over him, and in his hair. I'd find that rather concerning.
Or did no-one even see him? Odd in daylight.

Good thinking about the beach recliners. You're right that there would be recliners or lounge chairs.

Here's another thought to consider. If he didn't pass out on the beach, then where did he pass out at?

 

[TMich6811]

I’m at the point where I’m exhausted going back and forth with literally no actual information. We can analyze what he says until we are blue, translation issue no translation issue, maybe waves, alcohol factor, why the clothes are where they are.

But there’s no info except mostly media made up or blurred items. It’s just a lot of back and forth with basically nothing to support anything except the 3-4 things we actually know which is a whole lot of nothing. I’m gonna step away from this one, will someone ping me if something concrete or addition pops up

 

[Deleted member 356433]

Joshua Riibe speaks out after being named as person of interest

Joshua Riibe, 22, was the last person seen with the 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh junior before she went missing from the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana in the early hours of March 6.

www.dailymail.co.uk

'I kept trying to get her to breathe, but that didn't allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water,' he said, adding he used to be a lifeguard.

Investigators in the Dominican Republic said they believe she drowned, and while they have questioned Riibe, they have not said he is suspected of any crime.

Seems to me he saved her life, and she didn't even stick around to see if he was going to be OK. Goes both ways, he would have died on the beach and she went back to her room, would that be OK.? JMO MOO

@Donswife48 , “she didn’t even stick around” to be seen or heard from ever again, either…

 

[Cyber sleuth]

See the photo showing JR's back in this NY post article and then compare the color of his back to the color of his legs:

Last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki speaks out as DR seizes his passport

The Iowa native says he has been cooperating with authorities as they continue the search for the 20-year-old Indian national.

nypost.com

View attachment 571514

Thank you

 

[Knox]

I’m at the point where I’m exhausted going back and forth with literally no actual information. We can analyze what he says until we are blue, translation issue no translation issue, maybe waves, alcohol factor, why the clothes are where they are.

But there’s no info except mostly media made up or blurred items. It’s just a lot of back and forth with basically nothing to support anything except the 3-4 things we actually know which is a whole lot of nothing. I’m gonna step away from this one, will someone ping me if something concrete or addition pops up

I hear you on this, felt the same in the Gene Hackman thread. At some point it becomes counter productive ...

 

[minazoe]

so is this right that no one saw them on the beach? so they didn't find the top or shoe for 8 days? so why? this is strange if they searched the area. I feel like they know the currents and tides and should be able to find her...because they were so inebriated it leads me to believe an accident did occur and that this was not murder...because people who are drunk can't usually put a murder together like this...there's no ability to execute a plan to hide bodies etc. when you are barf drunk.

however it's still possible and he could have blacked out and done something in a rage over hooking up. ( Joran Vandersloot style) He could have pulled her body far out into the water... this could have happened . They would have found drag marks if he had dragged her away from the water and it doesn't look like there are many heavily wooded or jungley areas where you would hide a body.

these kids get so wasted on these spring breaks it's really scary and extreme..it's crazy binge drinking and if you are throwing up you are off your balance... you can drown so easily. anyone who has been ship-faced knows this..also what was the light like on the beach that night? what is the visibility?
it doesn't seem like there's anywhere else to go besides the beach... if they took a detour , where would it take them?

they are suspicious of him and keeping him a really long time...they have more questions for a reason...but there are no witnesses, but something is not sitting right apparently. I hope he is innocent and this will be over soon...so traumatic and scary. mOO

 

[Pseudonymph]

Bad sunburns are dehydrating and can make you much more susceptible to alcohol.

 

[Cyber sleuth]

These perspectives would never, ever have occurred to me. I really hope you are wrong and SK didn’t encounter someone as extraordinarily cold, calculating, and sadistic as the one you are describing. What terrible luck that would be It’s a privilege to have access to so many POV in this forum.

Yes spending time here you will find these monsters do roam at large.
I am very skeptical of his story. If the ocean was rough with 5-6 foot waves then why would he bring her out there in waist deep water ( to him or her?that’s a big height variance) to start a romantic encounter?
Also his self hero painting language and then the mysterious “leaving without a thanks” that seems to throw shade at her, the young woman who he was left entrusted with by her friends and is now missing doesn’t sit right with me.
As to why her things were left at the beach. Well because she never came out of that water. If she even went in willingly. AMO

 

[minazoe]

I do wonder what the surf was like that night...because maybe they know where her body would likely be and it's not there, so where is she? maybe for her to be somewhere near the reefs she would have had to have been out much much further in that water...speculation only...but they will try to follow the science and the currents etc. The day time was a red flag situation but they don't mention the conditions in the wee hours ..also he says he slept for 4 hours but no one can place him there.

lets also remember if she was killed it was awfully quiet...this is just a weird story altogether.
drunken chaos? or is it something darker? mOO

 

[tarabull]

American Red Cross Lifeguarding Manual
DANGEROUS BEHAVIOURS: Alcohol
Page #10 of the pdf
or
Page #39 of the booklet

In case you are looking...
(ET fix page #'s)

 

[Hexe]

From your picture you can see how clear the water is + the waves are breaking on shore, but this may not always be the case. According to him, they were waste deep in the ocean & kissing. If you look at other pictures, you have to go out a long way to get waist deep JMO.

Whose waist, though? Sudiksha was 5'3" and he is at least half head taller than her, sssoooo, if the water reached to his waist, she was in it up to her chest. Quite not comfortable in wavy sea.
On the other hand if the water was waist deep for Sudiksha, he had that water up to his thighs.

 

[Seni]

They got pissed out of their brains, even to the extent of re-entering a restaurant outside of which they apparently puked and went back for more drinks...

 

[Deleted member 356433]

I do wonder what the surf was like that night...because maybe they know where her body would likely be and it's not there, so where is she? maybe for her to be somewhere near the reefs she would have had to have been out much much further in that water...speculation only...but they will try to follow the science and the currents etc. The day time was a red flag situation but they don't mention the conditions in the wee hours ..also he says he slept for 4 hours but no one can place him there.

lets also remember if she was killed it was awfully quiet...this is just a weird story altogether.
drunken chaos? or is it something darker? mOO

I do know that many pages of posts ago, one master sleuth actually posted a link to a site that reports detailed data on surf conditions every day of the year and even more than one time per day. I wish I could remember their handle or locate their post to give credit where credit is due — but all I could do is locate the link they shared in my history:

Surf forecast and sea conditions in Punta Cana. Swellinfo

Surf report in Punta Cana. The surf forecasts measurements are updated daily with a ten days forecast so you can make plan your holiday in advance

seatemperature.info

I believe the correct date to review is March 6. I know that it’s been widely reported that one expert on global weather and ocean dynamics has made strong claims that the ocean was too calm that morning and that there were no rip currents present, but the data in the link above for Mar 6 coupled with the undisputed point that there was a red flag flying on the beach that morning lead me to wonder what data this “expert” examined. Having an expert say the water was peaceful without rip currents has huge implications for the investigation!

The reported WMO sea state code was 4 when they were supposedly in the water. I had to look up what that meant, and level 4 sea state on this scale is defined by waves from 4’1” to 8’2” high, and using the hypothetical example of how a boat would behave, at level 4, “The boat is pitching and rolling violently, and lifting operations, launching, and recovering equipment should be avoided.”

@Cyber sleuth writing this makes me think about how valid your point was earlier about how these sound like ridiculous conditions in which two people could stand in waist deep water, kissing and talking a little..

 

[Cryptic]

"Then she went to gather her belongings, since the sea had moved us." What 22-year-old guy from Iowa talks about "gathering belongings" or refers to the ocean as "the sea"? At least in the part of the US MidWest that I'm familiar with, people would say "the ocean" had moved us, or better yet "the waves." "The sea" sounds like a translation issue to me.

Though Spanish has a word for ocean, by far the most common word I have heard in Spanish for ocean is "mar". "Mar" translates to "sea" in English. One can see this in the name of towns such as Del Mar, California.

Your observation about the translated "gathering belongings" sounding stilted strongly suggests that the translator has a learned fluency in English. As a result, his / her translations will come off as overly formal or stilted at times.

This reminds me of me when I informally translated a variety of material and conversations from English into Spanish. One native speaker said my translations were good, but also sounded too formal and used words from the previous generation.

In defense of all translators, translating conversations at a natural pace is hard. 100% accurate translations of entire conversations both technically and context wise can often require somebody who is fully bilingual and fully bi cultural. These people are not always available.

Rather, fully bilingual and fully bi cultural people can be pretty rare from what I have seen. Even people who think they are, will usually end up being stronger in one culture / language over the other.