Parents Plead for Death Declaration for Missing US College Student

The parents of the University of Pittsburgh student who went missing during Spring Break in the Dominican Republic have formally accepted that her disappearance may have resulted in death.

Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki wrote a letter asking authorities in the Caribbean nation to declare Sudiksha Konanki, 21, as deceased.

“We understand that certain legal procedures must be followed and are prepared to comply with any necessary formalities or documentation,” the March 17 letter stated.

Sudiksha Konanki, a citizen of India and U.S. permanent resident who lived in Virginia, was declared missing on March 7 after she was last seen on March 6 drinking beverages with a group of people that included 22-year-old Joshua Riibe.

“Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence,” the parents stated. “While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.”

On March 13, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia told NTD that Riibe may have been the last person to have seen Konanki before she vanished and that he is a person of interest but not a suspect.

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As previously reported by NTD, Konanki was last seen at the beach at 4:50 a.m. when she and other guests left the Hotel Riu Republica during an unexpected power outage.

“Sudiksha’s family has expressed their belief that she drowned,” Sheriff Michael Chapman said in an email to NTD News, a sister media of The Epoch Times, on March 18.

“While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible as we continue to review the evidence and information made available to us in the course of this investigation.”

Riibe, who is a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota, and Konanki were both guests at Hotel Riu Republica. The Konanki’s parents said in their letter that her clothes were discovered on a beach near where she was last seen.

“Following an extensive search, Dominican authorities have concluded that Sudiksha is believed to have drowned,” they said. “The individual last seen with her is cooperating with the investigation and no evidence of foul play has been found.”

Konanki had traveled to the popular resort town Punta Cana with five female friends on March 3 at the start of their spring break. Police said she disappeared at a beach by her hotel before dawn on March 6.

Riibe and others who were with Konanki before she vanished were interviewed by Dominican authorities. Although Riibe has not been named as a suspect, his parents, Albert and Tina Riibe, said in a March 15 statement that their son has been under police surveillance in a hotel room and has been repeatedly taken to the police station since March 6 where he was interrogated for hours.

He is scheduled to appear in court today at 2 p.m. where a request for his release by his attorney will be addressed.

NTD reached out to law firm Guzman Ariza, which is representing Riibe, for comment.