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

[Only4Justice]

Thank you for providing this quote. Sorry to all the people who want this to be something more sinister but I find that story very believable. An absolute tragedy in itself but very believable. In actual fact this young man was being heroic in his rescue of her. They were both blind drunk and both made a naive and foolish decision to enter the surf. He is being held by authorities because that is what you have to do until her body is found or something else is proven. Sometimes these women are the prey of predators but this just sounds like innocent young love. Two holiday makers hooking up under the influence of alcohol, then making some bad choices.

The guy was blackout drunk which means his coordination and "fight or flight" response were severely impaired. Despite his lifeguard experience, I doubt he would be able to have the mental and physical fortitude in his drunken state to swim through the heavy current and back to shore carrying a full-grown woman. It would be hard enough just to save himself.

Perhaps I missed this being discussed earlier, but I found a few things interesting in his most recent quote:

"[Sudiksha] and I kissed. A big wave came and hit us both, and with the rising water, it swept us out to sea. As soon as we were able to surface, we tried to call for help, but there was no one there."

I had not heard until now that they called for help and that no one was there.

The witness said he acted as a lifeguard and "grabbed her and pulled her out" and got them back to the shore.

"Then she went to gather her belongings, since the sea had moved us. She wasn't out of the water, as it was up to our knees. She was walking at an angle in the water," he said. "The last time I saw her, I asked if she was okay. I didn't hear her answer because I started vomiting all the seawater I'd swallowed."

Source

According to his own account, she appeared to be well and confident enough to prioritize gathering her belongings and even going back in the water, so perhaps their scary ordeal wasn't actually that life-threatening after all. Maybe a smallish wave knocked them over and they bounced back pretty quickly. Had the event gone as he described -- being swept out to sea by a big wave that required him to go into lifeguard mode and rescue the victim; swallowing so much seawater that he vomited -- it doesn't make sense that SK would be apparently unaffected and well enough to gather up belongings. She didn't even have anything of value (like her phone) with her. Would she really risk her life again to splash around in the ocean looking for a dirty shirt?

He said that was the last time he saw Sudiksha. "I thought she'd grabbed her things and left," the witness said. "After I saw her walk away, as she walked in the water, I never saw her again."

So he describes a near-death experience that exhausted him so much that he vomited and passed out while SK was well enough to "grab her things" and "walk away" in the water? The timing of his blackout is very (in)convenient. Moreover, if they really just survived a near-death experience together where he risked his life to save her, and if he really was unable to confirm that she was okay (beyond a glimpse of her walking in the ocean) before he blacked out, it's very odd that he didn't show any curiosity or care for her well-being when he awakened.

I simply don't buy the rescue story.

Excellent Post.

 

[Judy Sleuth]

I'm still so annoyed by the reporting in this case. Maybe the bilingual nature of it highlights just how bad/imprecise the reporting is for everything any more. We Web Sleuths are looking at it as though we're being given exact details, almost as if in court, when instead, we get 2nd- or even 3rd-hand instances. The general public is probably even more pulled in by assumed accuracy.

Case in point, the nbcwashington article in Post #694 actually QUOTES JR as saying : "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. And saying something along the lines of going to "pick up her stuff" seems much more natural than "gather her belongings." I have trouble believing that those words ARE an exact quote from him, in which case, how much else of what we're hearing/reading is also inaccurate?

Argh.


Tequila, a big wave and a missing student: What spring breaker told police

 

[steeltowngirl]

I realize everyone is different at a young age and after having consumed enormous amounts of booze, BUT to mix the inebriated state with the OCEAN is an entirely new level

When tequila enters, common sense flies right out the door.

jmo

 

[Chimera]

Her not getting her dry clothes and flip flops really worries me. I'd think she'd grab them if she was heading back to her room. Makes me think she never made it out of the water.

Bingo.
Imo.

 

[Hanoi2009]

Yes, it is exhausting, I don't deny that. What I find suspicious is that despite first intoxication and then exhaustion to the point of blackout he managed to remember a lot of details

Perhaps it was adrenaline at the time or adrenaline when he learned that she was missing that brought some of his memories back? JMO

 

[Hanoi2009]

Yes true.
But if it was dark, how did he see her walking knee high back in the water?

According to my earlier post, it looks as if there was a quarter moon. It wouldn’t have been pitch black.

 

[mickey2942]

When tequila enters, common sense flies right out the door.

jmo

Truth. Tequila is pure poison for people of Irish descent. JMO.

Even if anything nefarious did happen, no body, no evidence to contradict the information presented. Sounds like this mystery is over.

 

[acutename]

They may not have known where the shore was, especially if they were drunk and it was dark out.

I was just thinking that you do not fight the rip, because you cannot win. But I did have an acquaintance who grew up at the shore and swam all the time and fished and boated and one day she almost drowned in a big undertow and was not interested in ocean swimming again.... so, maybe the danger at this beach was absolutely real. The pictures online make it look tame... at the time they were taken.

 

[steeltowngirl]

I was just thinking that you do not fight the rip, because you cannot win. But I did have an acquaintance who grew up at the shore and swam all the time and fished and boated and one day she almost drowned in a big undertow and was not interested in ocean swimming again.... so, maybe the danger at this beach was absolutely real. The pictures online make it look tame... at the time they were taken.

I have been to Punta Cana and found the waves to be rough. I believe 3 European tourists drowned in the waters of the same hotel in January.

 

[whitelilac]

What is so sad in this case, besides the tragic loss of Sudiksha, is that there may never be a resolution. Whatever happened may never be known or proven. Her parents, siblings and loved ones have to live with that, and Joshua will likely always be under that cloud of doubt, no matter what his statements of this awful event he has put forward.

 

[Knox]

I have been to Punta Cana and found the waves to be rough. I believe 3 European tourists drowned in the waters of the same hotel in January.

Wasn't it four? I'll have to look again.

ETA -

 

[armchairagatha]

What is so sad in this case, besides the tragic loss of Sudiksha, is that there may never be a resolution. Whatever happened may never be known or proven. Her parents, siblings and loved ones have to live with that, and Joshua will likely always be under that cloud of doubt, no matter what his statements of this awful event he has put forward.

While it is sad, whatever happened can directly be attributed to bad judgment on both SK and JR's part. Harsh truth. Every day there are hundreds who die in accidents caused by no fault of theirs. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Think of car accidents where the victim(s) lost their lives due to no fault of theirs. Or pedestrians run down by a speeding car that didn't stop at the zebra crossing. These stories get no publicity and a lot of times, the perp gets off with a slap on the wrist.

 

[Shamrockgirl]

I find it odd that surveillance videos keep getting leaked (puking at the bar)- isn't this all part of the investigation that should be sealed?

Also, any thoughts as to what was in his pocket when he was walking back from the beach? His hands were oddly in his shorts pocket, just one of them.

 

[Bounceycat]

Truth. Tequila is pure poison for people of Irish descent. JMO.

Even if anything nefarious did happen, no body, no evidence to contradict the information presented. Sounds like this mystery is over.

Who is of Irish descent in this case that would make this relevant?

 

[KMouse]

When tequila enters, common sense flies right out the door.

jmo

I they were doing shots then it may have taken a bit of time for the alcohol to hit her.

 

[Warwick7]

Found her flip flops and white cover she was wearing.

Indian-origin student Sudiksha’s clothes found on beach chair where she went missing - WIC News

Authorities from the Dominican Republic, USA, and India are working tirelessly to uncover evidence that could lead to a final verdict in Sudiksha's case.

wicnews.com

 

[Only4Justice]

Found her flip flops and white cover she was wearing.

Indian-origin student Sudiksha’s clothes found on beach chair where she went missing - WIC News

Authorities from the Dominican Republic, USA, and India are working tirelessly to uncover evidence that could lead to a final verdict in Sudiksha's case.

wicnews.com

So sad. I believe she drowned. Unless more information comes out.

 

[Bahshudc]

I've been trying to make decent timeline for all of this, and every single time stamp has about 3 variations in each report. Impossible. Moo.

 

[Warwick7]

I've been trying to make decent timeline for all of this, and every single time stamp has about 3 variations in each report. Impossible. Moo.

Can you post all 3 please?

 

[tarabull]

Bumping!!! What about these guys....fwiw, they could have seen this "situation" as an opportunity MOO

WHERE IS SUDIKSHA???

I suppose LE is checking everyone in the footage, there are other men going towards the beach.

After this, there are two other men walking towards the beach actually

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

Thanks !
I missed noticing that.

Thank U for paying attention @truthfinder2019