Search for missing University of Pittsburgh student who vanished during spring break in Dominican Republic continues
The search for missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, who vanished while on a spring break trip in the Dominican Republic, entered its fourth day on Monday.
The 20-year-old junior was last seen in the early morning hours of March 6 entering the beach of the RIU hotel she was staying at in Punta Cana, according to Dominican Republic National Police.
Konanki and five friends from college arrived in the D.R. on March 3 and were staying at the same hotel, police said.
National Police learned she was missing on Friday morning and an “exhaustive search has been initiated by sea, air and land” using drones, helicopters, divers, boats and canine units. Police believe she disappeared around 4:15 a.m. after she and her friends were captured on video surveillance entering the beach area of the hotel. Her friends returned to the hotel, but she did not.
The Public Prosecutors’ office was interviewing her friends. Police also said they interviewed a young man who was at the beach around that time and are trying to corroborate his version of events.
RIU Hotels said in a statement Sunday it was “deeply concerned about the disappearance of one of our guests.”
“From the moment her absence was reported, we have been working closely with the local authorities, including the police and the navy, to conduct a thorough search,” the hotel said. “We would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends during this incredibly difficult time … we are fully committed to doing everything in our power to assist in this situation.”
The hotel said it is supporting authorities in the search, and established an internal communication channel so that employees across the chain’s five Punta Cana hotels can share information with hotel leaders and authorities.
La Altagracia Civil Defense, the local Dominican Republic emergency operations agency, shared photos of multiple agencies searching on the beach over the weekend.
Konanki’s family resides in Virginia. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia was contacted to report her disappearance, according to Sheriff Michael Chapman. He noted that Konanki’s parents are traveling to Punta Cana.
He said authorities are combing through security camera footage for signs of her and cell phone data.
“We have certainly experts here within the U.S. that will look into all aspects of her phone, her friends’ phones, anybody that she might have been with, to see exactly what may have happened there,” Chapman said.
Chapman said his office is working with authorities in the Dominican Republic as well as the U.S. State Department. The FBI said Dominican authorities are leading the investigation, but that the bureau “stands ready to assist our international partners with any requests for assistance.”
Konanki’s five female friends from college were scheduled to return to the U.S. on Friday, but stayed back to aid in the search for her, sheriff’s office spokesperson Thomas Julia said.
Authorities said it’s not clear if her disappearance is accidental or if foul play was involved.
“Right now it runs the gamut from something accidental to foul play,” Julia told NBC News. “It is all at this point under consideration. Nothing’s been ruled out.”
The University of Pittsburgh said it was in contact with Konanki’s family and offering support in the investigation. The Indian Embassy in the Dominican Republic is also helping in the investigation as Konanki is also a citizen of India, Chapman said.
