Subbarayudu and SreeDevi Konanki, the parents of Sudiksha Konanki missing University of Pittsburgh student motion Dominican Republic authorities to formally declare their daughter is dead as they have accepted she is unlikely to ever be found alive as a decision on what to do with Joshua Riibe, Iowa man has yet to be made as he continues to be questioned despite his demands to be released.
The grieving parents of a University of Pittsburgh pre-med student who went missing while on a ‘dream’ Caribbean getaway have asked Dominican Republic authorities to formally declare their daughter dead.
The revelation comes after the family having come to accept that Sudiksha Konanki, 20, won’t be found alive since vanishing 11 days ago during the early morning hours of March 6th according to a source with direct knowledge of the investigation according to the dailymail.
Joshua Riibe pleads habeas corpus release as missing pre-med student’s parents thank him
Joshua Riibe pleads habeas corpus release as missing pre-med student’s parents thank him
#SudikshaKonanki parents talking with the local news channel.
March 10th 2025 pic.twitter.com/APib6BdU1S
— 🇬🇧 Matt Blac Inc. #BeaVoice 🇺🇸 #Helpfindme 🌏 (@MattBlacInc) March 12, 2025
Did missing University of Pittsburgh student likely drown?
The declaration comes amid a massive search for the missing 20 year old, with authorities initially stating their belief the girl likely drowned in rough waters.
The source alleges her grieving parents Subbarayudu and SreeDevi Konanki submitted a formal written request to the National Police for a ‘legal declaration of death.’
The request comes after the student’s parents initially requesting authorities widen the search zone and to take seriously the possibility that Sudiksha hadn’t drowned but was instead kidnapped.
‘It’s four days, and if she was in water, she would likely have been strewn to shore,’ Subbarayudu wrote in a statement to police on March 10, four days after disappearing.
The parents stated last hearing from during an 8pm phone call on the evening of March 5.
In the days since Sudiksha’s disappearance, investigators have focused on 22 year old Iowa man, Joshua Riibe, who is believed to have last seen the missing woman after the pair going for an early morning swim.
Will Joshua Riibe be allowed to leave the Dominican Republic?
In seemingly contradictory accounts, the 22 year old told police that the pair went for a swim only to be knocked out by a large wave. He claimed he used his lifeguard training to drag Konanki back towards the shore, but that the last time he saw her she was waist deep in water after allegedly ‘passing out.’
Sudiksha was never seen again.
Surveillance footage showed him returning to his room alone at 9am later that morning.
While Dominican authorities stress there is no evidence of foul play, and have declined to name Riibe as a person of interest or a suspect, let alone charge him, the 22 year old continued to be detained by police as he was once again probed by police on Monday
With his passport confiscated and unable to leave the island, Riibe on Monday gave authorities an ultimatum, to to either charge him or release him so he can be on his way.
Sudiksha, an Indian national who emigrated to the US as a young child, was enjoying a Caribbean getaway with five female college friends when she was reported missing on Thursday.
Authorities had yet to announce what measures they would now take with Joshua Riibe or whether they would formally declare Sudiksha dead.
