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

[armchairagatha]

I haven't seen anyone post what the tide was like at that time. High tide? Low tide? Hard to believe they would have been too deep/far into the water, but if the tide turned, it could have taken them by surprise.

 

[Pharmasgirl]

His family insists he "wouldn't hurt a fly" but it doesn't seem like he'd save one either. MOO

There have been many parents, family, friends STUNNED by the character of their loved one that can be displayed… character they’ve never seen nor can be understood. Keep an open mind…

 

[armchairagatha]

I may have missed this but was there any indication about where his shoes and shirt went? Surely he would have put them on before heading back to the hotel in the morning? Washed away while he was sleeping?

 

[Himako14]

<modsnip - quoted post was snipped (social media rumor>
A rip current can take anyone. I have lifeguard training, 220 lbs. I got caught in a rip current at my local beach three years ago.

<modsnip>

 

[Cryptic]

I’m really struggling with the targeting of the “poi” here.

To me, the totality seems off.

I enjoy ocean swimming and will swim in rough surf (always mindful of lifeguard orders). When I do swim in rough surf, I can often look up, and down the beach and see often see that I am the only person swimming, but also nearly the only person in the water above knee deep wading. Most people just don't like being knocked down by surf.

That aside and going subjective.....

K and the POI remain on the dark beach. Statistically, K might not be very likely to be a good swimmer (most people are not) and may not be accustomed to rough, knock down surf.

But.... fortified by alcohol and with a large, athletic male that she maybe moderately attracted to, she and the POI venture into the surf and start getting knocked down every now and then- its fun or more likely "fun" from K's point of view.

Male then says he leaves to go vomit and starts to pass out. I am thinking..... how likely is it that K would remain in the water, alone, at night, in "knock down" type surf conditions? Thinking she would very likely get out of the water with her friend. Yet, the POI claims that she continued to apparently full on swim alone?

Something does not seem right- even factoring in alcohol.

 

[shetalksinstereo]

I doubt they took her phone on the excursion - wouldn't it make sense to leave it in the room for her to find when she returned latera room key or card found

dbm

 

[Hanoi2009]

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 agree. I'm an English teacher, so I'm hypersensitive to word choice, and I really disliked when I read on some site that he was "caught on surveillance footage." How about he was "seen" on surveillance footage?? Words have meaning and words matter!

 

[armchairagatha]

To me, the totality seems off.

I enjoy ocean swimming and will swim in rough surf (always mindful of lifeguard orders). When I do swim in rough surf, I can often look up, and down the beach and see often see that I am the only person swimming, but also nearly the only person in the water above knee deep wading. Most people just don't like being knocked down by surf.

That aside and going subjective.....

K and the POI remain on the dark beach. Statistically, K might not be very likely to be a good swimmer (most people are not) and may not be accustomed to rough, knock down surf.

But.... fortified by alcohol and with a large, athletic male that she maybe moderately attracted to, she and the POI venture into the surf and start getting knocked down every now and then- its fun or more likely "fun" from K's point of view.

Male then says he leaves to go vomit and starts to pass out. I am thinking..... how likely is it that K would remain in the water, alone, at night, in "knock down" type surf conditions? Thinking she would very likely get out of the water with her friend. Yet, the POI claims that she continued to apparently full on swim alone?

Something does not seem right- even factoring in alcohol.

Solid reasoning there. You are asking the right questions. Pyschologically, it is unlikely that SK would have remained in the rough waters alone, especially if the guy was throwing up and passing out. Her instinct would have been to get out for her own safety as well as to see if she could help the guy if he was sick.

 

[303gmf]

By bravado, I mean hanging out alone with a strange man in a foreign country at 4 am on a dangerous beach known for riptides. While both are drunk to the point of throwing up. Are you telling me every student who goes on spring break does that?

Millions do from all over the US, see Miami/Ft Lauderdale in the 70’s-2000’s

 

[arielilane]

@CStewartNews


The London County Sheriff is the agency that used the term “Person of Interest.” This isn’t a criminal case it’s a missing person investigation.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1900193602556285297

 

[GraceG]

Law Enforcement Officers use different terms, including person of interest and suspect. In the initial stages of an investigation one does necessarily mean the same as the other. A person of interest is anyone the police believe has crucial information about a crime. It may be a witness or someone with a close relationship with the victim of the crime. After LE assesses evidence and the information they collect from the person of interest, they may find a party they believe committed the crime. This is a suspect. A person of interest may help the police find the suspect or may turn out to be one.

 

[Curiousobserver]

If JR was passed out/sleeping on the beach on a chair or in the sand until almost 10am surely someone would have noticed or seen him, no? That part of his story could be corroborated by other guests arriving on beach to catch the sunrise or those arriving a little later to enjoy the beach.

I’m usually the first to suspect the husband/ boyfriend/ stepfather/ random dude they just met but I’m feeling like this is a case of (drunk) young adults making a series of stupid decisions. All of them! I think she unfortunately and very sadly drowned. Jmo

Absolutely agree. Any beach you go to in the world will have dozens of people out just at twilight and sunrise taking a walk on their vacation. The beach was most certainly not empty at that time of day. If he were to have committed some violent act it would be noticeable and there would have been witnesses to see it whereas a downing could be over in a second and could easily go unnoticed. For me the balance of probability here is with an accidental drowning.

 

[bestill]

The release of the POI name could very well be purposeful to take the focus off of the resort, locals and community that thrives off of tourism.

There were travel warnings released for American citizens and spring breakers traveling to the Carribbean and Mexico to be aware of criminal activity on the rise against tourist.

 

[TMich6811]

Solid reasoning there. You are asking the right questions. Pyschologically, it is unlikely that SK would have remained in the rough waters alone, especially if the guy was throwing up and passing out. Her instinct would have been to get out for her own safety as well as to see if she could help the guy if he was sick.

Her instinct sober and thinking rationally. Not drunk and thinking wow this is so fun and then unable to get out.

I dunno I feel like a lot of the “this is what would have happened” and similar posts come from a place of not understand this level of drunk

ETA that we don’t know if she was drunk but even in a sober scenario she may have even tried to get out but got confused or pulled under.

I just feel strongly that this situation was no good all around and isn’t a set up for what one may think to do correctly

 

[nightowl2728]

After reading about this for several days, considering everything, etc., I'm starting to strongly speculate (JMO) that the answer lies somewhere in the middle.. maybe JR didn't have the intent to hurt or kill K, but while he was puking on the beach/passing out, he saw her struggling in the water and didn't have the wherewithal to help. Then he was maybe in and out of consciousness/sleep sort of knowing what happened. Then he wakes up at 9am in the hot sun and it all floods back to him, he goes back to the hotel scared, hoping it was a bad dream, but realizing it wasn't and is in shock. Lies to himself that K must have gotten out and went back to the hotel, but is too scared to find out. Too dumb to realize him not saying anything looks worse... Telling the truth from the beginning would have been the thing to do. (As an aside, how LE questioned him may have had an effect on how he told the story).

Unless there is corroborated evidence that LE isn't sharing of JR trying to find K afterwards, asking hotel staff, finding her friends, I believe at least the above happened, if not worse.

If LE can't corroborate his multiple versions of events and there's no evidence of him trying to find out what happened to her, then I think think that keeps the suspicion very heavy on him, but little ability to actually charge him with a crime, and an uncertainty of his level of intent.

 

[flowershop]

No that is not him, it is the other friend with another of the girls. They walk in front of SK ( SK and her friend are those with red arrows)

These are the screenshots from the video in the dailymail article:

View attachment 570338
View attachment 570339

View attachment 570340

And these are the other two men, which I mentioned are going towards the beach AFTER SK went to the beach and the other friends are back towards the hotel:

View attachment 570341

Not saying they are related, just a mere observation.

Source and credit: Dailymail,

Haunting footage shows missing student walking to Dominican beach

The video shows Konanki striding towards the beach in Punta Cana with Joshua Steven Ribe, the last man to have seen her alive.

www.dailymail.co.uk

Another strange thing for me, the lights in the lane are ON and the CCTV is working. I thought there was a power outage ?

Back up generator? I am not sure. Good question.

In the second to last photo, JR is walking with SK and holding what I believe is a phone in an outstretched arm. He is filming them walking if I am right.

I am curious about what is on his phone. JMO

 

[whitelilac]

A few updates I had not seen before:

New information has revealed that other people were on the beach when US college student Sudiksha Konanki went missing in the Dominican Republic.

Video evidence points to additional people being on the beach around the time Konanki went missing, beyond a young man who’d told police he’d been with her there, .. Investigators are trying to identify these people while asking that they come forward with any information about Konanki.

Because other people were around the beach early on March 6, without discovering a body authorities must allow for the possibility Konanki may have encountered one or more of them.

Dominican officials had previously said they were investigating Konanki’s disappearance as a drowning. But the general prosecutor’s office said Wednesday officials are also investigating whether Konanki’s disappearance could extend “beyond a possible accidental event.”

"The night Konanki disappeared, sea conditions were dangerous with high waves,....."

"Konanki’s disappearance comes nearly two months after four tourists drowned in Punta Cana at the same beach...."

As for above discussion about S still in the water when Joshua felt sick, he "recalled ..seeing Konanki still standing about ankle deep"

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/13/us/missing-us-student-punta-cana-beach-hnk/index.html

 

[thebedbug]

If he passed out on the beach. Woke up. She was gone. Why would he do anything but go back to his room, clean up, and go about his vacation? Maybe... he'd try to call her later that evening to meet up, if he even had contact info. Maybe... it was just one wild night on spring break and on to the next adventure.

 

[whitelilac]

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.

 

[TMich6811]

Back up generator? I am not sure. Good question.

In the second to last photo, JR is walking with SK and holding what I believe is a phone in an outstretched arm. He is filming them walking if I am right.

I am curious about what is on his phone. JMO

I think it’s a cup not a phone