Off The Record
Joshua Riibe Is “Detained Again” And Sudiksha Konanki Is Being Pursued
Due to a problem with his travel paperwork, Joshua Riibe, the last person spotted with missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, was arrested once more on his way back to the United States, this time in Puerto Rico.
When the Iowa native tried to board a connecting aircraft home at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport, airport personnel stopped him. Authorities reportedly raised concerns about his documentation since his temporary travel documents from the Dominican Republic were not properly stamped, according to local news outlet Noticias Sin.
Riibe’s father, Albert, appeared visibly frustrated when speaking to reporters at the airport. “I’m just a dad who had his son taken away… We just spent two weeks trying to stay together,” he told news cameras.
This most recent postponement follows a Dominican judge’s formal approval of Riibe’s departure. Judge Elvis Delgado decided that the 22-year-old was allowed to go home after a hearing that lasted almost five hours on Tuesday.
In the past, Dominican officials had repeatedly questioned him regarding Konanki’s abduction, seized his passport, and placed restrictions on his travel.
During the hearing, Riibe pleaded with the court, saying, “I really want to be able to go home, talk to my family, give them hugs, tell them I miss them,” according to Dominican news outlet Noticias SIN. “I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been ten days and I can’t leave.”
Although authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia, where Konanki’s family resides, have designated Riibe as a person of interest, he has not been charged with any crimes and has not been designated as a suspect by Dominican authorities.
The Night of Konanki’s Disappearance
On March 6, at around 4:15 a.m., surveillance footage showed 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki strolling toward the beach at the RIU Hotel and Resort in Punta Cana. According to The Mirror US, surveillance cameras saw her joining arms with Riibe as part of a group traveling toward the water while on a spring break vacation with friends.
Around 5:55 a.m., the majority of the group was observed departing the beach, but Riibe was later seen going back to his hotel room by himself, without Konanki.
Her distraught parents, who fear their daughter drowned in the choppy waves of the ocean that morning, have now asked officials to formally pronounce her dead. Additionally, they have stated unequivocally that they do not believe Riibe has committed any violation.
“Both sides of the authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides have clarified that the person of interest was never a suspect,” said her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, in a statement to The New York Post.
“It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned,” he added.
Riibe’s Account of That Night
Investigators learned that Riibe, a student at Minnesota’s St. Cloud State College, and Konanki had been drinking on the beach and sharing a kiss in waist-deep water when they were carried farther out to sea by a strong tide. Riibe, a veteran lifeguard, claimed that although he was able to get Konanki back to shore, he presumed she had packed up her things and gone after throwing up from weariness. Later, when he found out she was missing, he said he was shocked.
But according to T.J. Ward, a private investigator, the pupil did not drown, he told News Nation Now.
“I don’t believe that she drowned. I think something else happened,” said Ward, who has worked on various high-profile missing cases, including that of Natalie Holloway in 2005.
“It’s way too early. I don’t believe she drowned,” he said.
For eighteen years, Ward worked on Holloway’s case. He now claimed to have reached out to Konanki’s mother and offered to work as a private investigator.
“This case is going to stay active until they find some evidence to move forward,” Ward said. “I think something else happened.”
More than fifty people have been investigated by Dominican authorities in relation to the case, but they insist that Riibe was simply questioned as a witness and never formally imprisoned.
His father, Albert, has voiced frustration over how long the process has taken. “Enough,” he reportedly told the judge. “It’s been 12 days.”
Judge Delgado ultimately granted Riibe permission to leave, stating, “The law is the law.”
Her family is still searching for Konanki and trying to come to terms with their terrible loss while also concentrating on finding solutions.
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