Iowa man named person of interest in disappearance case of student in Dominican Republic

Authorities in the Dominican Republic and the United States continue investigating the disappearance of University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, who was last seen on a Punta Cana beach in the early hours of March 6.

Joshua Riibe, a 22-year-old from Iowa, has been named a person of interest in the case, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, where Konanki's family resides, confirmed to Iowa’s News Now. A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office said Riibe is not a suspect, and the designation as a person of interest was made in collaboration with the FBI. "This is not at this time a criminal investigation," the spokesperson said. "So to be clear, he is not a suspect."

According to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Riibe was vacationing in Punta Cana but was not part of the group traveling with Konanki. "This particular individual may have been the last one to have seen her, so is of particular interest," the spokesperson said.

The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office told Iowa's News Now that their investigators will also have a presence in the Dominican Republic beginning Wednesday and that the investigation is progressing as "a number of people have been interviewed by the Dominican National Police with the assistance of the FBI."

Authorities have also reviewed surveillance footage and conducted search efforts by land, air, and sea. Dominican authorities have not publicly identified Riibe in their statements.

Konanki, a 20-year-old pre-med student, arrived in the Dominican Republic on March 3 with five female friends for spring break. Dominican police confirmed she was last seen walking toward the beach around 4:15 a.m. on March 6.

The Dominican National Police stated that a young man, who had entered the ocean with Konanki, has been interviewed as part of the investigation. Authorities are working to corroborate his version of events.

Riibe is listed as a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, according to his LinkedIn page.

Surveillance footage obtained by Noticias SIN, a Dominican news outlet, shows her walking toward the beach around 4:15 a.m. on March 6 with a group that included Riibe. By 5:55 a.m., most of the group had returned to their rooms, leaving Riibe and Konanki alone, according to police statements reported in El Nuevo Diario. The footage later captured Riibe returning alone to the hotel at 8:54 a.m.