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

[CityKid]

I am referencing your posted article….

The article mentions that the young man, after leaving the water and vomiting, then passed out on a sun lounger. However, it’s unclear if there are any sun loungers on the beach as none of the videos I’ve seen of the students walking to and from the beach show anyone carrying a lounge chair. Does the resort provide lounge chairs on the beach, or is this some thing that was brought by the students themselves. Additionally, there have been reports stating that the power had been out, though I’m not sure if this was the case on that particular night. Some reports suggest that young people had been sleeping on the beach Due to the power being out. Are there any confirmed accounts of people sleeping on the beach that night, and if so, are there any statements from witnesses who might have seen something?

In the second photo in this gallery, you can see the loungers close to the shore and behind them, what looks to me like two rows of huts, MOO where you could change or get out of the sun for a bit.

 

[whitelilac]

More detail of Joshua's description on events here:

Man last known to be seen with missing University of Pittsburgh student tells prosecutors how he rescued her from rough water

The man last known to be seen with a University of Pittsburgh student before she vanished from a beach in the Dominican Republic gave more details to local prosecutors about the last time he saw her, Dominican news station Noticias SIN reported.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Chimera]

El Ministerio Público, la Policía y 4 agencias nacionales e internacionales investigan la desaparición de la estudiante Konanki Sudiksha Chowdary

pgr.gob.do

Quoting a Spanish to English translation from the above DR government press release dated two days ago -

"The prosecution, which is conducting multiple investigative procedures that extend beyond a possible accidental event, is keeping the course of the proceedings confidential, in accordance with Dominican procedural regulations for this stage.

“We are using all our resources to thoroughly investigate the disappearance of Konanki Sudiskha Chowdary and understand the distress this case causes her family, Dominican citizens, and Americans,” said Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso.

"As with any disappearance that occurs under the circumstances of the case at hand, we are applying a holistic investigation protocol that examines all variables," he added."

Bbm.
I take this to mean they aren't ruling anything out ?
Imo.

 

[Shamrockgirl]

I am wondering if a variation of this is what actually happened. Something happened on the beach (he made advances, she spurned him, he got enraged and maybe applied too much force and she passed out or worse). Now he is in a panic. He carries her, swims into the open sea some distance, dumps her there and comes back, swallowing a lot of sea water as he says. This causes him to throw up on the shore and he is exhausted and passes out for 4 hrs. So, yes, in this version, he is carrying her and swimming in the ocean but not to rescue her, but actually dump her in the ocean. The rest of his story is true - swallowed salt water, threw up, passed out on the shore for 3 hrs etc. JMO.

Interesting theory/ and maybe stayed on the beach for several hours to see if she would make it back

 

[Kermitskorner]

Coco Bongo is 17.1 km (10.6 miles) from Riu. Google Maps doesn't show any public transport available. The other Venmo transaction had a boat emoji. I can't find info on whether there's a shuttle bus or maybe a ferry-type boat between the two places. Has anyone seen any info on how they might have traveled?

Great question. I thought maybe a ferry or water taxi but you realistically wouldn't go that route as both destinations are inland. Maybe this was an activity they did prior to the charge or even maybe booked an upcoming excursion? I did notice that right outside of Coco Bongo is Carribean Lake Park, a watersports kind of place. They had pictures of guests doing boat rides, water skiing, and tubing. Maybe they had done that before going out but I would think they would all want to change & wash up before going out.

I did also see that some of the hotels in Punta Cana (not sure about Riu) have water taxis that just kinda go up and down to the beach so people can I guess flag them down or book one.

 

[Chimera]

Agree.. to me there's just so much more circumstantial evidence making me think he has some culpability more than the other way around. Just actual facts not necessarily how media is or is not portraying it. For example, if I saw somewhere there was evidence of him trying to save her/see what happened to her after versus him just saying that, I may feel otherwise

Edit: And the fact that he will not disclose the conversation he had with his roommate at the hotel when he got back (nor will the roommate disclose). What could he have said that would have been so bad if he actually has no culpability?

Bbm.
The changing stories are a bit concerning, I think originally many people assumed he was disoriented and thus the changing accounts ?
Omo.

 

[whitelilac]

one thing in above link I posted
"When I finally reached the ground on the beach, I held her in front of me."
"He said he last saw Konanki when she was walking in knee-deep water."

He is on the beach with her after their ordeal.
Then she's back knee deep in the water .
Or does "being on the ground on the beach" mean they're still in the water but feel the ground under them?

 

[Chimera]

But what happened after he almost saved her life, as he states? They apparently both were in a struggle for their lives where he was pulling her out of the water to prevent from drowning, and he just assumes she got up and went back to the hotel while he was puking all over and passing out to the point of not even seeing where the woman went he was just trying to save?

No check in after? No attempt to find her friends the next day? I just find that very odd and not what a reasonable/normal person would do. Even if he did go back to the hotel and pass out.

Per the people who said a hookup is just a casual holiday thing, what is there to be embarrassed about if they 'just kissed'? Seems like more than a casual holiday fling if he saved her from drowning...

I think to think the above isn't odd is intellectual dishonesty and frankly why LE is still holding him as a person of interest. Of course, we don't know what he did after, as LE hasn't released information about that and he didn't answer several related questions to that from LE, per the obtained transcript.

Bbm.
I hadn't read this before today.

Another version of events ? Or just something more about what happened to them that night ?
Just asking.
I am trying my darnedest to catch up here, sorry.
Omo.

 

[Chimera]

one thing in above link I posted
"When I finally reached the ground on the beach, I held her in front of me."
"He said he last saw Konanki when she was walking in knee-deep water."

He is on the beach with her after their ordeal.
Then she's back knee deep in the water .
Or does "being on the ground on the beach" mean they're still in the water but feel the ground under them?

Black and red bolding mine.
Hmmm.
Just seems --imo--the story about the events that sad night are changing ?
Omo.

 

[Mica]

Coco Bongo is 17.1 km (10.6 miles) from Riu. Google Maps doesn't show any public transport available. The other Venmo transaction had a boat emoji. I can't find info on whether there's a shuttle bus or maybe a ferry-type boat between the two places. Has anyone seen any info on how they might have traveled?

Coco Bongo Punta Cana to Hotel Riu Republica

www.google.com

Found this on TripAdvisor.

Riu Republica Questions & Answers

How far away is Coco bongo from this hotel and do they provide any shuttle service to there at all?

I think it's about a 15-minute drive from the hotel. If you buy your ticket for Coco Bongo from a tour provider, they will normally provide transportation (a bus) to pick people up from the resort(s). Otherwise a taxi will probably cost you around $20-30 USD each way. Taxis are quite expensive in DR.

https://www.tripadvisor.com/FAQ_Answers-g147293-d9463219-t4014146-How_far_away_is_Coco_bongo_from_this_hotel_and.html

 

[CityKid]

He's an American. What translations are we worried about here? I'd assume any interviews would be recorded. English is commonly spoken in tourist areas.

I don't get what we're translating.

Spanish is the official language of the Dominican Republic and MOO that Spanish is not JR's native language.

In the second photo in this gallery, you can see the loungers close to the shore and behind them, what looks to me like two rows of huts, MOO where you could change or get out of the sun for a bit.

Oops! Sorry; I forgot to post the link to the gallery.

Riu Republica Punta Cana - Punta Cana, Macao Beach, Riu Republica Resort

 

[CityKid]

Bbm.
I hadn't read this before today.

Another version of events ? Or just something more about what happened to them that night ?
Just asking.
I am trying my darnedest to catch up here, sorry.
Omo.

It's really hard to catch up when the presentation of the events keeps changing!

 

[Kermitskorner]

Maybe I missed this but does anyone know if all her belongings are missing as well? I would think when they went to get in the water, she would have put her phone or bag on the beach. Or even taking off any clothes over her bathing suit?

 

[TMich6811]

IMO I don’t know that his story is changing or it’s being presented different or translated different. I don’t feel there has been enough official reporting to have an opinion here

 

[Kermitskorner]

Black and red bolding mine.
Hmmm.
Just seems --imo--the story about the events that sad night are changing ?
Omo.

I feel like every interview he has done--- something has shifted. I can see how the alcohol & trauma of this situation could make things harder to recall but this many changes doesn't make sense. I'm also trying to wrap my head around this particular sense of events. So they get pulled in by a riptide or have some sort of struggle in the water... JR is able to pull her out and "held her" & asking if she's okay... he starts throwing up in which she is already back standing in the water?

Maybe she didn't swallow much water or just ended up recovering from it quickly but I am struggling to imagine him being breathless & getting sick while she had to be drug out from the water just to get up to go back to the water? I'm not sure if I'm understanding his wording of events though, I could be perceiving all this wrong from what he actually means. IMO

 

[Whiteorchids]

In the past drownings in PC did the bodies resurface to shore? It seems like they would unless snagged or eaten by sharks, etc. This story is so sad I pray she’s found, since he was the last one to see her and nobody was a witness he can say anything and no one would know if true or false. Alcohol can change people in so many ways maybe his story is true or maybe he wanted more than a kiss which she refused and strangled her, only way they would know if she washed ashore with marks on her body or found elsewhere. I presume he's innocent as of now

 

[Pharmasgirl]

I feel like every interview he has done--- something has shifted. I can see how the alcohol & trauma of this situation could make things harder to recall but this many changes doesn't make sense. I'm also trying to wrap my head around this particular sense of events. So they get pulled in by a riptide or have some sort of struggle in the water... JR is able to pull her out and "held her" & asking if she's okay... he starts throwing up in which she is already back standing in the water?

Maybe she didn't swallow much water or just ended up recovering from it quickly but I am struggling to imagine him being breathless & getting sick while she had to be drug out from the water just to get up to go back to the water? I'm not sure if I'm understanding his wording of events though, I could be perceiving all this wrong from what he actually means. IMO

We read with the same confusion…

 

[SlimPickens]

This is a tough one, because even if there was suspected foul play by the POI the narrative could just as easily be framed as an accident. They're going to need to find her before this case goes anywhere one way or the other.

 

[Chimera]

It seems that the link to the New York Post newspaper article that I posted in thread #417 about the disappearance being probed as possible foul play isn't working.

I found that article from another New York Post article that was posted in in thread #405 about the last person saving the victim from drowning. Just click on related articles and that's how I found that article.

Reposting that same article again from thread #417. Let's see if this works.


Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance in the DR being probed as possible foul play

Source:

Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance in the DR being probed as possible foul play

Thanks for linking this. ^^^^
Only my .02 : I feel that to be completely cooperating JR should tell LE what the conversation was when he got back to the room.
Maybe the roommate could help, and say what the convo. was ?
Just asking.
From the above link :
".... Officials in the Dominican Republic said they have not ruled out foul play in the disappearance of University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, as the search for her enters its seventh day.

The attorney general and police in the Caribbean nation said in a release that the search for the missing co-ed now extends “beyond an accidental event” and “examines all variables. ..."

Wonder what made LE change their mind ?
Imo.

 

[shetalksinstereo]

Young people today seem to be more pampered than previous generations, and while I don’t know either of the individuals involved in this particular situation, I do think this trend reflects a broader cultural shift. Growing up in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s, our instinct was to immediately help someone in need. If someone was in a dangerous situation, we didn’t hesitate to make sure they were OK and offer assistance. But today, I often see a culture where young people seem less inclined to take responsibility. For example, it’s not uncommon for someone to call their mom or dad for help with something like changing a tire – even at 25 years old. Add alcohol into the mix, and people seem even less likely to act responsibly, or consider the consequences of their actions. So, it’s not surprising, that in a situation like this, where one person might not have thought deeply enough about the welfare of the other, it reflects the shift in mindset.

And Just to be clear, this is merely an observation in my opinion – I’m not trying to deflect or minimize what someone may or may not have done.

I totally agree with this! I think some of it could be lack of confidence in certain situations and/or coupled with just lack of knowledge.

I grew up in the 80s and drove less than perfect cars, so my dad taught me how to do things in the event of x, y or z. Also, living in a winter climate, I had to know how to use jumper cables, etc. I was also in Girl Scouts and learned different skills that you might not have if you were not involved in scouting.

With advancements in technology, some skills are just no longer needed but they can still be transferable somehow. I think that some skills just erode over generations for many reasons. I don't know how to milk a cow or grow corn, but my great-grandparents did!

I think that is one of the biggest gifts you can give your kids is to teach them to have some situational awareness and some basic life skills, even if one is to call 911 and/or get help!