Missing Indian-American student Sudiksha Konanki and Joshua Riibe, the person of interest in the case, were seen together at an outdoor bar before she vanished from a Dominican Republic beach on March 6. A new footage, obtained by local outlet Noticia SIN, shows Ms Konanki at the bar with friends.
At one point, she puts her hand over her mouth, steps away, and hunches over a patch of grass before returning to the bar. She then rejoins her friends, jumps in excitement and hugs a female companion.
In the same footage, a man, believed to be Joshua Riibe, is seen outside the bar, seemingly drunk. Another young man appears to comfort him as Mr Riibe stumbles backwards.
Both Ms Konanki and Mr Riibe appear to be wearing the same outfits seen in previously released surveillance footage – Ms Konanki in a white dress with her hair in a ponytail and Mr Riibe in the same clothing from earlier recordings of them walking together before she disappears. The two did not interact in the new video and were in separate groups.
A second video shows Ms Konanki with three other girls in the lobby of the RIU Hotel & Resort, wearing the same clothes.
Ms Konanki, a pre-med student at the University of Pittsburgh from South Riding, Virginia, had travelled to the Dominican Republic for a vacation with five friends. On the night of March 5, they went out to party at a resort nightclub in Punta Cana.
Surveillance footage captured them at the club before heading to the beach at around 4:15 am. Most of her friends left by 5:50 am, leaving Ms Konanki alone with Mr Riibe, a college senior from Minnesota she met that night. A separate clip from the Riu Republica Resort shows Ms Konanki walking arm-in-arm with Mr Riibe, along a resort pathway, accompanied by her friends.
Mr Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota and originally from Iowa, has been in custody since Ms Konanki’s disappearance. He was interrogated by Dominican police until nearly 3 am on March 16. Authorities have not charged him but have confiscated his passport as the investigation continues.
Mr Riibe told investigators he was with Ms Konanki in waist-deep water, “talking and kissing a little”, when a strong wave pulled them out to sea. As a trained pool lifeguard, he said he tried to hold Ms Konanki under his arm while swimming back to shore, ensuring she could breathe. He said he struggled to stay afloat, saying, “I took in a lot of water.”
Once they reached shallower waters, he set her in front of him and saw her “walking at an angle in the water”. He last asked if she was okay but didn’t hear her response as he began vomiting seawater. When he recovered, she was gone. Thinking she had left, Mr Riibe blacked out on a beach chair.
Dominican authorities continue their search for Sudiksha Konanki, 11 days after her disappearance. While officials believe she may have drowned, her family suspects foul play. Mr Riibe remains a person of interest, but no charges have been pressed against him.
