An Indian-origin University of Pittsburgh student who went missing during spring break in the Dominican Republic is now believed to have drowned. Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was visiting the Caribbean nation with five fellow Pittsburgh students, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, which said Konanki and one other spring breaker is from the Virginia county.
Security footage captured Konanki on the beach outside the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana around 4:50 a.m. on Thursday, wearing a bikini in what would be her last known sighting. Three Dominican officials involved in the investigation told ABC News that Konanki had been walking on the beach with six others the night before.
Grim Update
According to an investigative report obtained by the network, most of the group eventually returned to the hotel, but one person remained with Konanki on the beach. The report mentions that the two later went for a swim and were caught by a big wave.
However, Loudoun County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Thomas Julia cast doubt on this account, telling the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the drowning theory might simply be based on her last known location near the water.
"But [there]s] no evidence to support that conclusion at this time," he claimed.
"The investigation is looking at everything from an accident to foul play and interviews are ongoing, along with review of video and phone records," Julia continued.
"The best outcome is that she is found alive and well."
Authorities have already spoken with Konanki's friends to determine the precise area for a maritime search, CNN reported.
Her friends said she told them that she was going to a party at the resort on Wednesday night, and they contacted authorities the next morning when they realized she had not returned to her room.
At the time of her disappearance, Konanki was wearing a multicolored beaded bracelet on her left wrist, yellow and steel bracelets on her right arm, an anklet on her right leg, and large round earrings.
A recently surfaced photo of her matches that description.
Family Helpless
According to her LinkedIn profile, the pre-med student is on track to graduate from the University of Pittsburgh in 2026. Before attending college, she studied at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia.
"My daughter is a very nice girl. She's ambitious," her father, Subbarayudu Konanki said. "She wanted to pursue a career in medicine."
The Indian embassy is working with officials from Loudoun County, Virginia, as well as multiple agencies in the Dominican Republic to aid in the search efforts.
Jared Stonesifer, a spokesperson for the University of Pittsburgh, said that the school has been in touch with Konanki's family and local authorities.
"University officials are in contact with Sudiksha Konanki's family as well as authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia, and we have offered our full support in their efforts to find her and bring her home safely," the school said in a statement.
Konanki's disappearance comes just months after the U.S. State Department issued a Level Two travel advisory for the Dominican Republic, urging Americans to be more cautious while visiting the country.
