Missing American Sudiksha Konanki’s family asks she be declared dead

The family of a missing University of Pittsburgh student has asked the Dominican Republic’s national police that she be declared dead.

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, disappeared on spring break while in the Dominican Republic. She was last seen at a hotel around 04:00 local time on 6 March.

The Dominican Republic’s police confirmed to the BBC that they had received the request from Ms Konanki’s family, but did not provide additional details.

Police have been searching for her for the past two weeks. Investigators are considering whether she may have drowned, but have not ruled out foul play.

Joshua Riibe, a 22-year-old college student, was the last person to see Ms Konanki alive. He has not been accused of a crime and the national police said there is no suspect in the disappearance.

Ms Konanki is a 20-year-old college student attending the University of Pittsburgh, where she studies biology and chemistry.

The college junior travelled with a group of five female friends to a resort in Punta Cana on a spring break trip, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.

She is a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States. She lives with her family in Chantilly, Virginia, located in Loudoun County.

Ms Konanki was last seen early in the morning of 6 March by Mr Riibe.

Surveillance video shows her and a group of friends walking toward the beach.

She was with five women, Mr Riibe and another American man in the video.

Ms Konanki stayed on the beach with Mr Riibe as the others returned to the hotel, Dominican police told the BBC’s news partner CBS.

Mr Riibe reportedly said that he and Ms Konanki were pulled out to sea by a large wave in the early morning hours, and he struggled to pull them back to shore. He has said that he believes that Ms Konanki got out of the water, but she then seemed to vanish.

Mr Riibe’s parents released a statement to CBS News saying they hope Ms Konanki is “found as soon as possible”.

Mr Riibe is a senior at St Cloud State University in Minnesota.

“We recognise that this is a complex and painful situation for all parties involved, and we trust that the investigation will be conducted with transparency and justice. Our only interest is that due process be respected and that actions be taken with the fairness that the situation requires,” the statement reads.

Mr Riibe was held in Dominican custody for over a week until a judge ruled on Tuesday that he should be freed.

It remains unclear whether he will be able to return to the US, however, as authorities seized his passport last week.

The college student filed a petition to a court asking for his release. He alleged that prosecutors, police and the hotel he stayed at had violated his rights by detaining him without charges.

“I really want to go home and see my family,” Mr Riibe reportedly said in court. “I understand I’m here to help but it’s been 10 days.”

He is not considered a suspect in Ms Konanki’s disappearance and has not been accused of wrongdoing. Lawyers for the government have said that he is a “witness” and “has never been accused”.

Mr Riibe said that he has met with Ms Konanki’s mother, according to CBS News. He said that she hugged and thanked him for saving her daughter after the first wave crashed.

The Dominican Republic’s national police told the BBC that they had received a request from Ms Konanki’s family to declare her dead.

Officials have said that they have spent dozens of hours looking for the missing student.

Police are dividing search areas and assigning drones to certain sectors.

Pilots are monitoring footage that is being uploaded to a command centre where AI is looking to identify objects in the ocean.

Search crews are looking in water and on land.

Authorities say it’s not clear whether foul play was involved in Ms Konanki’s disappearance.

There was no blood or signs of violence found at the beach.

The University of Pittsburgh, where Ms Konanki is a student, said in a statement they are working with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security and local authorities in response to her disappearance.

The International Criminal Police Organization, known as Interpol, issued a global alert after Ms Konanki went missing.

The yellow notice is for missing persons such as victims of kidnappings or “unexplained disappearances”.