Joshua Riibe, a 22-year-old Minnesota student, has returned to the U.S. after being detained in the Dominican Republic. He was the last known person to see Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student who went missing on March 6 during a spring break trip to Punta Cana.
Riibe stated that he and Konanki were caught in a strong current while swimming. He managed to pull her to safety but later lost consciousness on the beach. When he woke up, Konanki was gone. Dominican authorities detained Riibe as a person of interest, confiscating his passport and phone, but he was not considered a suspect.
After a court ruling allowing him to leave, Riibe obtained a new passport and flew home with his father. Meanwhile, despite ongoing search efforts, Konanki remains missing. Authorities suspect she may have drowned, and her parents have requested that she be declared legally dead.
