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

[katsrfun]

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

As I described in a previous post, when I got caught in a rip, when I got back on the beach, I was so disoriented, and could barely tell the lifeguard to go get my friend. My body ached so bad I could barely stand up, and could not control vomiting, There is no way I was even capable of going back in the water, which would be the last thing that would cross my mind to do. I simply don't believe that after all that, she just stood up and walked in the water. This happened to me many years ago, and even though I love the ocean I am very leery of going in and mostly don't, unless I just go in at the very edge of the wave break on the beach. I don't believe that part of his story. When my girlfriend was brought in she was also puking and crying uncontrollably. We called my mother to come and get us because both of were too achy and distressed to drive. I believe he did what he said, but her, I think it is impossible she just got up and walked away and back into the ocean. MOO Katt

 

[Beekarina]

Husband and I went to Punta Cana in '09. Went to the club on property and drank at the disco. He had an allergic reaction to something and his face swelled up about an hour later. There are well-documented issues with liquor in some places in the DR not being the brand-name booze it was supposed to be...so who knows what they drank? Could've been super off-brand alcohol, something could've ended up in their drinks, who knows, really? I suppose her friends would know if she was disproportionately drunk beyond what she consumed, but I don't know if we'll get to hear anything from them as we haven't heard anything thus far. JMO IMHO OMO

It's possible someone drugged both their drinks. I don't think it is particularly *likely*, BUT if they were in a group, someone may have been preying on the girls and its possible he drank something laced as well, which may have contributed to his feeling sick and passing out on the beach.

I'm open to just about anything with this case since we do not have remains.

 

[Himako14]

I'm not sure if they have a flag system in DR but I think every beach I've been to in the U.S. has flags indicating the safeness of the water. Anyone know if they follow that same system?

SBM

They do have the red flag system, and apparently there was a red flag out that day and probably that night. Using Playa de Arena Gorda as the setting, waves were 6+ feet in the early morning of 3/6.

I haven’t been to the DR but I know from swimming on the Gulf Coast, I have to walk out several yards from shore to be up to my waist in some locations. I’m usually about 10/15 yards out in my hometown. Could it be the same there, shallow for an extended amount offshore?

Reference: I’m 5’9”.

 

[ACG2x]

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?

I understood it as he drug her to a spot where they could touch and the combination of intoxication and swallowing sea water made him sick so he was stopped to vomit before the got out of the water. If this is true, my assumption is she was also feeling the same and disoriented and got turned around and instead of walking towards the beach itself, walked back out and got swept away. That's about the only sequence of events where his story holds that makes sense.

 

[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 bolded is new to me.

Everyone wants to know what happened.

The resort wants to know because this can't look good for them !
Cops want to know because of the nature of their occupation which makes them 'nosier' than many of us; so of course they're going to want to know more about JR's account of that evening.
Her family wants to find her if there is a tiny chance she could be alive & held somewhere... they must be so frantic and sad.
I am sorry there is no Sudiksha and no answers !

For my part, I'd like to know why LE wants to know what the conversation JR had with his roommate that morning.
Something alerted their (local police/fbi/national DR investigative agencies/etc.) curiosity.
What was it ?
I am looking around, but would like to know more about what the police need from JR information-wise.
As of now I believe JR's cooperating, and has also lawyered up (could be a matter of doing both) ?
Imo.

 

[TMich6811]

Would someone please direct me to the article which includes directly reported information regarding the convo in his room?

 

[armchairagatha]

Earlier, I missed the part in the article where he said they kissed in the water before being swept away by the waves. That reinforces my theory of him wanting more after that kiss. Zero chance that the guy would have wanted to stop at just a kiss with the bikini clad SK. Bet things went downhill really fast after she pulled back. MOO.

 

[flowershop]

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

According to the Chris Stewart interview he did with a PI, the body from the January disappearance was never found. 14 min 22 sec

EDIT TO ADD: This was a person that went missing in January from this same resort.

 

[CityKid]

Would someone please direct me to the article which includes directly reported information regarding the convo in his room?

I'm posting them below, but for the rest of the story, the link is beneath them. He was acting on the advice of his lawyer when he declined to answer:

• How can we verify that everything you have said corresponds to the truth?
• Could you tell us what you told your friend Carter Joseph, when he asked about the missing girl Konanki – Sudiksha?
• What do you think about Sudiksha’s disappearance?
• Did young Sudiksha know how to swim or not?
• Do you remember if young Sudiksha made any gestures or cries while she was in the sea?
• Did you inform the authorities or the hotel what had happened to you and the girl on the beach?
• Did you tell your friend what had happened with you and the girl on the beach?
• How do you feel about this situation?

Last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki claims he saved her from drowning — but declined to answer 8 key police questions

Minnesota college senior Joshua Riibe, 22, refused to answer several key questions as he described his final moments with Konaki before she vanished in the Dominican Republic.

nypost.com

 

[CityKid]

According to the Chris Stewart interview he did with a PI, the body from the January disappearance was never found.

Per the link below, "The four tourists disappeared off the Arena Gorda beach in Bávaro, an area of resorts in Punta Cana, and their bodies were recovered in January, the civil defense agency said in a social media post. The four drowned January 18, The Associated Press reported. Two other people also were swept away with the four but survived, the civil defense agency said."

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/12/us/sudiksha-konanki-missing-search-intensifies-hnk/index.html#:~:text=The%20four%20tourists%20disappeared%20off,18%2C%20The%20Associated%20Press%20reported.

The AP report: Four tourists drowned off the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic and two others were rescued

 

[TMich6811]

I'm posting them below, but for the rest of the story, the link is beneath them. He was acting on the advice of his lawyer when he declined to answer:

• How can we verify that everything you have said corresponds to the truth?
• Could you tell us what you told your friend Carter Joseph, when he asked about the missing girl Konanki – Sudiksha?
• What do you think about Sudiksha’s disappearance?
• Did young Sudiksha know how to swim or not?
• Do you remember if young Sudiksha made any gestures or cries while she was in the sea?
• Did you inform the authorities or the hotel what had happened to you and the girl on the beach?
• Did you tell your friend what had happened with you and the girl on the beach?
• How do you feel about this situation?

Last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki claims he saved her from drowning — but declined to answer 8 key police questions

Minnesota college senior Joshua Riibe, 22, refused to answer several key questions as he described his final moments with Konaki before she vanished in the Dominican Republic.

nypost.com

Hmm i mean some of these would be innocent to answer so I feel like it’s an attorney giving advice to just stay out of the questioning some of them are clearly

I’m probably missing it but I don’t see where the roommate also refused to discuss the convo?

Side note does anyone else find it incredibly annoying that the NY Post cites their own articles more than actual information

 

[flowershop]

was

Per the link below, "The four tourists disappeared off the Arena Gorda beach in Bávaro, an area of resorts in Punta Cana, and their bodies were recovered in January, the civil defense agency said in a social media post. The four drowned January 18, The Associated Press reported. Two other people also were swept away with the four but survived, the civil defense agency said."

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/12/us/sudiksha-konanki-missing-search-intensifies-hnk/index.html#:~:text=The%20four%20tourists%20disappeared%20off,18%2C%20The%20Associated%20Press%20reported.

The AP report: Four tourists drowned off the eastern coast of the Dominican Republic and two others were rescued

I edited my post to add that the Chris Stewart interviewee was referring to a guest who went missing at the same resort that SK was staying at.

 

[nightowl2728]

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.

Last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki claims he saved her from drowning — but declined to answer 8 key police questions

 

[nightowl2728]

Bbm.
The bolded is new to me.

Everyone wants to know what happened.

The resort wants to know because this can't look good for them !
Cops want to know because of the nature of their occupation which makes them 'nosier' than many of us; so of course they're going to want to know more about JR's account of that evening.
Her family wants to find her if there is a tiny chance she could be alive & held somewhere... they must be so frantic and sad.
I am sorry there is no Sudiksha and no answers !

For my part, I'd like to know why LE wants to know what the conversation JR had with his roommate that morning.
Something alerted their (local police/fbi/national DR investigative agencies/etc.) curiosity.
What was it ?
I am looking around, but would like to know more about what the police need from JR information-wise.
As of now I believe JR's cooperating, and has also lawyered up (could be a matter of doing both) ?
Imo.

Last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki claims he saved her from drowning — but declined to answer 8 key police questions

 

[Marfe]

Wonder what made LE change their mind ?
Imo.

IMOO - with the past few drownings, tourist activity may decline if this is yet another drowning in such short a timespan. Local people may want to point the finger away from 'natural' causes and towards the American tourist being the bad guy. "He is to blame, safe to come and spend your time and money here". The resort may be worried about lawsuits too at this point: is somebody sue-happy going to blame them? As in 'but for their power outage they would have been safe; outage led to these youngsters going to the beach , and it was not clearly indicated that that wasn't safe, and, and.. etc etc. Yeah, cynical me is bubbling up.
JMOO

 

[TMich6811]

Edited by me

 

[CityKid]

Hmm i mean some of these would be innocent to answer so I feel like it’s an attorney giving advice to just stay out of the questioning some of them are clearly

I’m probably missing it but I don’t see where the roommate also refused to discuss the convo?

Side note does anyone else find it incredibly annoying that the NY Post cites their own articles more than actual information

On your last point, yes, the NYP is annoying and often runs entire stories reworked from other publications without any independent verification. It's about as "journalistic" as a Buzzfeed story based on a Reddit thread.
As for the actual questions, I'm really curious why two of the questions are about his friend. Is there a discrepancy between the time JR says he arrived home and what the roommate says? Does the resort use room keys or keycards that allow arrival times to be determined exactly? Did JR implicate himself to the friend?
The rest of the questions are odd IMO. What does "What do you think about Sudiksha’s disappearance?" even mean? I assume most of us here, and anyone who knows about the case, think it's terrible, it's sad, we feel for her parents, we hope if she's a crime victim the perp is brought to justice. I don't see how that question gets to JR's mindset or helps find out what happened here. MOO

 

[Ghostwheel]

I'm posting them below, but for the rest of the story, the link is beneath them. He was acting on the advice of his lawyer when he declined to answer:

• How can we verify that everything you have said corresponds to the truth?
• Could you tell us what you told your friend Carter Joseph, when he asked about the missing girl Konanki – Sudiksha?
• What do you think about Sudiksha’s disappearance?
• Did young Sudiksha know how to swim or not?
• Do you remember if young Sudiksha made any gestures or cries while she was in the sea?
• Did you inform the authorities or the hotel what had happened to you and the girl on the beach?
• Did you tell your friend what had happened with you and the girl on the beach?
• How do you feel about this situation?

Last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki claims he saved her from drowning — but declined to answer 8 key police questions

Minnesota college senior Joshua Riibe, 22, refused to answer several key questions as he described his final moments with Konaki before she vanished in the Dominican Republic.

nypost.com

Some of these can't be answered

• How can we verify that everything you have said corresponds to the truth?

Well, if there were only the two of them how could it be verified?

• What do you think about Sudiksha’s disappearance?

What on Earth can you answer to this that couldn't be twisted somehow? He can't say he feels awful he could not save her, that opens up lawsuit territory. Anything regarding how he thinks or feels I can see not answering.

If what he says is true, the most likely thing that happened is while he was throwing up, she was throwing up and possibly passed out in the water. By the time he looked around, she had been taken back out to sea far enough he could not see her. Was the tide coming in or going out?

 

[NoviceCrimeWatcher]

Unbelievable, how many people are making excuses for this guy.
However, he has never even reported SK missing. I guess it was the first red flag for the LE.
Next, JR can't remember the lies he told the police; thus, none of what he says makes any sense now.
Plus, he lawyered-up really quickly, was advised to refuse providing any further statements to LE, which is in his "best interests", though looks very selfish. It seems like he is not helping investigation any more.
So all of this doesn't make him look good. IM

Is it certain that he didn't report her missing? It's possible he was unaware of her absence until the other girls came back from their day trip and contacted him to check if she was still with him. Perhaps it was then that they all decided to report her missing.

 

[Bigditch]

I'm posting them below, but for the rest of the story, the link is beneath them. He was acting on the advice of his lawyer when he declined to answer:

• How can we verify that everything you have said corresponds to the truth?
• Could you tell us what you told your friend Carter Joseph, when he asked about the missing girl Konanki – Sudiksha?
• What do you think about Sudiksha’s disappearance?
• Did young Sudiksha know how to swim or not?
• Do you remember if young Sudiksha made any gestures or cries while she was in the sea?
• Did you inform the authorities or the hotel what had happened to you and the girl on the beach?
• Did you tell your friend what had happened with you and the girl on the beach?
• How do you feel about this situation?

Last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki claims he saved her from drowning — but declined to answer 8 key police questions

Minnesota college senior Joshua Riibe, 22, refused to answer several key questions as he described his final moments with Konaki before she vanished in the Dominican Republic.

nypost.com

#2 Seems odd to me, it is as if the friend had already given a statement. Also, did they find puke on his shirt/shorts?