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

[Knox]

Innocent until proven guilty. I would like to give this young man the benefit of the doubt until more verified details come through. I think his version is quite plausible and we don't really know the exact words he has said to the police. As other people have mentioned, he may have been embarrassed to mention some of the details, or nervous of the ramifications of saying things. Remember that he is relatively young at 22 and may not have any experience in dealing with police etc. He may have just been hoping and praying that she turns up and all is well. He may feel guilty for not being able to save her or ashamed for just not being manly enough.

I don't think that not answering questions anymore is suspicious, it is likely what his parents have said to do until he gets a lawyer. Getting a lawyer does not make you guilty, especially when you are under suspicion for murder.

The law and crime video I linked last night, was quoting from a translated transcript of the police interview with Riibe. So I think we do have an idea what he has told LE.

 

[CityKid]

I posted this on the DM also ...
for all we know some other person offered to help her and walk her back to the hotel. how good is the cell service? has every room in the hotel been searched? the roofs? the basement areas? storage? have dogs been brought in?

Dogs, drones and helicopters have been brought in.

What to know about Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki, who vanished in Dominican Republic on spring break

Dominican police say they've been re-interviewing people who were with Konanki before she went missing.

abc7ny.com

I don't know how good camera coverage is along the shore, but IMO it's possible another person/group offered her help. I'd love to find out if any other guests who were on the beach and/or along the paths where SK and JR were last seen have been questioned.

 

[Knox]

Does everyone believe his story about him rescuing her from a big wave, and last seeing her walking knee deep in the water?

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/14/us/missing-college-student-punta-cana-update/index.html

No, I do not think that is a truthful account of what happened that night.

 

[Pharmasgirl]

I would thing they would have been on camera

If electricity was off, were cameras workingFairly certain they’ve already checked footage…

 

[Chimera]

A few more questions :

• Why did her friends have her phone . It sounded like Sudiksha took it with her everywhere ?
• If the power was out, it looked from the last footage we have of Sudiksha that the outdoor lights were still on.
• If the power went out later, did any security cameras go out with it , and did it take a while for the cameras to turn on & was there a gap in the timing/recording ?
• From all of the accounts given by JR, the most recent one has him placing her in front of him and maybe even seeing her knee-deep in the water, so maybe she did not drown ?
• Did anyone at all see either of them on the beach that night, and if so it'd be great if they came forward to say what they saw and when -- they could certainly speak up anonymously.
• Is there any chance at all Sudiksha may be alive ?

Imo.

 

[Chimera]

Why experts believe missing Spring Break student didn't drown

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, has not been seen since the early hours of March 6 at the Riu Republica Resort on Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic - and experts fear foul play is why she hasn't been found

www.dailymail.co.uk

Stephen Leatherman, a professor of Earth and Environment at Florida International University, also thought eight days was too long for her body to be at sea.

'If she drowned, her body should have already surfaced in the warm Caribbean waters,' he said.

'I have served as an expert witness for 30 years, so I have been involved in many cases where someone drowned in a rip current, but the body was always recovered.

'I think that there must be another explanation for her disappearance.'
'Keeping focus on her likely being alive increases the chances of finding her.'

Rbm.
Obviously take the DM link with the proverbial grain of salt, but I think Prof. S. Leatherman has a point that maybe they need to take a closer look at other possibilities ?
Hoping for better news soon !!!!!!
Imo.
Omo.

 

[Judy Sleuth]

Braun, along with an expert on oceans, told DailyMail.com her body would almost certainly have washed up on the shore by now if she drowned.

An accidental drowning seems unlikely. The water wasn't rough that night, no high tide, and no rip currents, so she likely wasn't simply swept away,' Braun said.

'Keeping focus on her likely being alive increases the chances of finding her.'

Stephen Leatherman, a professor of Earth and Environment at Florida International University, also thought eight days was too long for her body to be at sea.

'If she drowned, her body should have already surfaced in the warm Caribbean waters,' he said.

'I have served as an expert witness for 30 years, so I have been involved in many cases where someone drowned in a rip current, but the body was always recovered.

'I think that there must be another explanation for her disappearance.'

More in the article

Why experts believe missing Spring Break student didn't drown

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, has not been seen since the early hours of March 6 at the Riu Republica Resort on Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic - and experts fear foul play is why she hasn't been found

www.dailymail.co.uk

footage showed the Konanki vomiting at 4.05am before walking back to the bar. Riibe remained in the background vomiting while two men stood near him.

Bold by me

The bolded info is conflicting for me. The resort had red flags out, and folks on this forum have checked the wave heights for that night and said they were 5-6 feet. That strikes me as "rough" water, but then I've never lived near the ocean.
The person, Braun, who said it is a private investigator, not an expert on the ocean (that expert was quoted further down in the article).

 

[Knox]

Why experts believe missing Spring Break student didn't drown

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, has not been seen since the early hours of March 6 at the Riu Republica Resort on Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic - and experts fear foul play is why she hasn't been found

www.dailymail.co.uk

Stephen Leatherman, a professor of Earth and Environment at Florida International University, also thought eight days was too long for her body to be at sea.

'If she drowned, her body should have already surfaced in the warm Caribbean waters,' he said.

'I have served as an expert witness for 30 years, so I have been involved in many cases where someone drowned in a rip current, but the body was always recovered.

'I think that there must be another explanation for her disappearance.'
'Keeping focus on her likely being alive increases the chances of finding her.'

Rbm.
Obviously take the DM link with the proverbial grain of salt, but I think Prof. S. Leatherman has a point that maybe they need to take a closer look at other possibilities ?
Hoping for better news soon !!!!!!
Imo.
Omo.

What other possibilities could there be which include Riibe? Most that I can come up with involve third parties. That seems unlikely, but cannot be excluded entirely. Occam’s Razor theory could apply here.

What other variables are there on her body returning to shore as predicted?

 

[TMich6811]

If electricity was off, were cameras workingFairly certain they’ve already checked footage…

How did we get security footage then

 

[Mica]

[…]

Riibe said Konanki was walking "knee-deep" in the water when he last saw her.

"I asked if she was okay. I didn’t hear her response because I started vomiting all the seawater I had swallowed," Riibe said. "After vomiting, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I thought she had grabbed her things and left. I felt really bad and exhausted. I lay down on a beach chair, fell asleep because I couldn’t go very far, and later woke up because of the sun and mosquito bites. I went to my friend’s room to get my phone, then went to my own room to sleep."

Riibe also told police he "expected to see her the next day" and thought he would "run into her around the area."

Riibe said he was sleeping in his room when his friend asked him if he had seen Konanki, to which Riibe replied no.

"I thought she had gone to her room," he allegedly told police. "Her friends texted my friend since he had one of their numbers."

The Iowa man said his friends went to the beach the next day and found his "belongings" because he "never picked them up," other than a pair of shoes and a room key that he said "someone had stolen."

[…]

Key witness in American college student's disappearance tells police how they met, what happened on beach

Key witness in missing American college student Sudiksha Konanki's disappearance in the Dominican Republic says they were hit by a big wave before she vanished.

www.yahoo.com

 

[Trebor5591]

I agree and hope his parents have travelled there to support him and have obtained - or at the very least considered obtaining - local legal counsel familiar with the international aspects of this type of situation.

I am a mom of two early 20’s kids and one who was well past that time in his life so I am familiar with this age group in this day (my kids are pretty open with me about things). I also did my share of partying in my teens/20’s and was lucky to survive considering some of the really stupid things we did back then - especially before cell phones that help keep you in contact with people & have location sharing, etc.

I can easily see how a night of partying can lead to really bad decisions, especially at an age when you feel invincible. Their guard may also have been down if they felt they were in the company of other American college kids in a nice resort.

My main concern is for Sudishka and her family and friends and I hope they find her safe, but unfortunately that becomes less likely the more time passes. And most of us are familiar with the Natalee Holloway, so it is impossible to not fear for her safety.

I also feel for the young man (as long as he isn’t found to have anything to do with her disappearance). I can’t imagine waking up after a night of partying to find yourself in the middle of a nightmare like this in a foreign country far away from your parents and the system/laws that you are familiar with - not to mention having your name all over the news and social media, much of which is pointing accusingly at you.

I am leaning towards this being an accidental drowning and that his “changing stories” are the result of not really knowing what happened due to excessive drinking, fear and trying to piece things together when you really don’t remember.

Unfortunately, the lives of everyone involved will forever and heartbreakingly be changed.

How many times have we on WS seen where the last person to have seen a missing person was the person who was later found to have been involved in the disappearance? I don't blame the police for interviewing him 4 times. Passed out from a night of heavy drinking is a shaky excuse for changing stories, IMO.

 

[JTribley]

Bold by me

The bolded info is conflicting for me. The resort had red flags out, and folks on this forum have checked the wave heights for that night and said they were 5-6 feet. That strikes me as "rough" water, but then I've never lived near the ocean.
The person, Braun, who said it is a private investigator, not an expert on the ocean (that expert was quoted further down in the article).

Agree with your bolded above. It is also conflicting to me. Red flags up means rough seas, dangerous currents. My sister lived in the DR for years, that side of the DR in Punta Cana (facing the Atlantic side) the sea is known for being very rough at times, & strong currents.

 

[whitelilac]

Bold by me

The bolded info is conflicting for me. The resort had red flags out, and folks on this forum have checked the wave heights for that night and said they were 5-6 feet. That strikes me as "rough" water, but then I've never lived near the ocean.
The person, Braun, who said it is a private investigator, not an expert on the ocean (that expert was quoted further down in the article).

Same here.
Also why would Riibe state they were hit by a big wave if it can be proven the water was calm or not.
I know there have been cases of ocean drowning victims here, in CA, who have never been found

 

[Cryptic]

Does everyone believe his story about him rescuing her from a big wave, and last seeing her walking knee deep in the water?

Hmmm...... The totality of his claim seems to be:

- Girl who has no indication of being a strong swimmer decides to venture into heavy "knock down" surf at night. This girl is a pre medical major- a group not exactly known for impulsive risk taking (though exceptions undoubtably exist).

- She is struck and knocked down by a large wave- only to be fished out by her companion. She then, perhaps being mystically drawn by the Syren song of the deep, gets up, returns to the heavy surf alone, goes in, and is either swept out by a rip tide, or a massive "sneeker wave".

Uhhmmm..... count me as not a believer- even factoring in alcohol with the missing girl. Now, if the fact pattern was:

- Sandra Yamamoto, a competitive, but still amateur surfer gets moderately intoxicated. Her long term boy friend and fellow surfer, David Briggs is with her. They find the resort to be boring.

- Decide to swim into rough surf (usually not too bad- once you get beyond the building / breaking point of the waves) at night for thrills. They miscalculated. BF makes it back to shore describing a whole series of rip tides. Sandra, however, sadly drowns.

I would be a believer, no doubts in my mind about the BF's tragic story..... .

 

[Only4Justice]

incident when there’s every likelihood that this was a sadly

Just my thoughts on this is that both young people were intoxicated and were hit by a large wave and nearly drowned. I believe the boy's account of the situation. He probably got her to shore and after vomiting up the water, he passed out and he truly does not know what happened to her. IMO

Occam’s Razor.

 

[whitelilac]

I was just looking at info on Macao Beach, where earlier authorities were searching after studying the currents that night. It's about 30 to 40 km from the Punta Cana resort from where she disappeared.
Looking at photos and comments, the ocean can be rough there too. I also noticed reefs there too. Seems there are hotels there too, so if she were to wash up on shore she would likely be discovered.
fwiw.

Google Search

 

[minazoe]

the almost drowning story works except that she ends up in knee high water...so it's a lot to think at that point she is pulled back in and never seen again. it's possible but how do we know she didn't wander into some other harm. I feel like she could be inside the hotel..she could be anywhere..do they have records of all coming and going vehicles? what about the cops on the beach..why didn't they respond to this situation out on the water? how do we know all the folks on the beach slept through it?

there is no trace of her. mOO

 

[Knox]

the almost drowning story works except that she ends up in knee high water...so it's a lot to think at that point she is pulled back in and never seen again. it's possible but how do we know she didn't wander into some other harm. I feel like she could be inside the hotel..she could be anywhere..do they have records of all coming and going vehicles? what about the cops on the beach..why didn't they respond to this situation out on the water? how do we know all the folks on the beach slept through it?

there is no trace of her. mOO

That's my major problem with his story. He is saying SK after being hit by a wave, swept out to sea and nearly drowning - returns to the water - "walking in knee deep water".

As I said before, if he is creating this story to exonerate himself - he's accomplished exactly the opposite. But it's too late to reel it back in now.

We're on day nine. I see many are saying due to water temp, currents, ect. - SK's body should have been found at the shoreline well before now. I have no idea if that is an absolute or not, but I would like to see a professional opinion on what the variables could be on that prediction. Preferably a source not linked to the DM or NYP.

 

[truthfinder2019]

Person of Interest in Sudiksha Konanki's Disappearance Detained 'Under Irregular Conditions,' His Family Says

The parents of Joshua Riibe, the person of interest in the disappearance of University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, said their son has been 'detained under irregular conditions and subjected to extensive questioning' by police after the woman disappeared in the Dominican Republic...

people.com

 

[citygirl]

Could it be possible someone was lying in wait and came in and scooped her up?