The man who last saw missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki told investigators he tried to save her from the ocean, and that he thought she was OK and had “taken her things and left.”
Authorities believe Konanki, a 20-year-old who went missing while on spring break in Punta Cana, died by drowning, officials told ABC News.
A member of civil defense canine unit searches for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, March. 10, 2025.
Francesco Spotorno/AP
On March 5, Konanki was part of a group that went to a nightclub and then for a walk on the beach, three Dominican officials involved in the investigation told ABC News. Most of the group went back to the hotel around 5:55 a.m. One man — 24-year-old Joshua Riibe — stayed with Konanki on the beach, and the two went for a swim, according to a Dominican Republic investigative police report.
Riibe, who met Konanki that night, confirmed he and and the 20-year-old kissed after a night of drinking, he told a prosecutor Thursday, according to a transcript provided to ABC News from two Dominican Republic sources.
“A big wave came and hit us both, then the tide pulled us into the ocean,” he told the prosecutor. “When we surfaced, we tried to plead for help, but there was no one there.”
Sudiksha Konanki is seen in this undated photo shared to Meta.
Sudiksha Konanki via Meta
Riibe, a pool lifeguard, said he “held her under my arm and swam to get her out of the water.”
“I was trying to make sure that she could breathe the entire time — that prevented me from breathing the entire time and I took in a lot of water,” he explained.
“When I finally touched the sand, I put her in front of me. Then she got up to go get her stuff since the ocean had moved us,” Riibe told the prosecutor. “She was not out of the water since it was up to her knee. She was walking at an angle in the water.”
“The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK. I didn’t hear her response because I began to vomit with all the water I had swallowed,” he said. “After vomiting, I looked around and I didn’t see anyone. I thought she had taken her things and left.”
“After I saw her walking away, while she was walking in the water, I never saw her again,” he said.
Riibe said he passed out on a beach chair and woke up to the sun and mosquitoes on him. He was seen on surveillance footage returning to his room several hours later.
Authorities said Riibe is not a suspect and is cooperating. But the prosecutor’s office said it is “conducting multiple investigating steps that extend beyond a possible accidental event.”
