Father of missing US student Sudiksha Konanki asks for wider
investigation in Dominican Republic
[March 11, 2025]
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The father of a
20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, who went
missing in the popular Dominican Republic tourist town of Punta Cana
while on spring break with friends, said he has asked authorities to
widen their investigation.
Konanki was last seen before dawn on March 6 at a beach near the resort
where she was staying, according to Civil Defense officials.
“It’s four days, and if she was in water, she would likely have been
strewn to shore,” her father Subbarayudu Konanki told WTOP-FM. “She’s
not found, so we’re asking them to investigate multiple options, like
kidnapping or abduction.”
Authorities were using drones, helicopters and detection dogs on Monday
to scour the waters off the island's east coast where she was supposedly
last seen, Jensen Sánchez, a Civil Defense spokesman, told The
Associated Press.
“The search is underway at sea because it's presumed she drowned.
According to the boy who was with her, the waves swept her away, but
that is under police investigation,” he said.
He noted it can take more than a week for a body to surface in warm
waters.
When her family learned of her disappearance, Subbarayudu Konanki and
his wife Sreedevi flew to Punta Cana with two family friends. He and a
family friend filed a record of complaint Sunday, asking authorities to
widen the investigation.
The complaint notes that the student’s belongings, including her phone
and wallet, were left with her friends, “which is unusual because she
always carried her phone with her.”
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Military personnel search for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student
from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican
Republic, Monday, March. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)
“In light of these circumstances, I respectfully request that the
authorities take immediate steps to investigate not only the
possibility of an accidental drowning, but also the possibility of a
kidnapping or foul play,” he wrote, according to WTOP-FM.
Sudiksha Konanki, a citizen of India, is a U.S. permanent resident
from Chantilly, Virginia, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s
Office, which is working with federal officials and university
police in support of the Dominican National Police investigation.
University of Pittsburgh officials are in contact with the family
and authorities in Virginia, and have offered their support in the
efforts to find the missing student and bring her home safely, the
school said in a statement.
Konanki and five other female university students traveled to the
Dominican Republic on March 3, according to her dad.
“She wanted to have a nice break with her friends in Punta Cana,” he
said.
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