A University of Pittsburgh student went missing after visiting the Dominican Republic.
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, is from Virginia. Authorities in the Dominican Republic say Konanki went missing while “walking on a beach.”
According to a Dominican police source, Konanki and five other women she was traveling with walked to a beach. They were joined by two other American men.
Konanki remained on the beach with one of the men while the rest of the group went back to the hotel.
No one has been detained, and the investigation is ongoing.
A Pitt spokesperson told KDKA-TV that the university is in contact with Konanki’s family and authorities in her hometown of northern Virginia.
“We have confirmed that there were six female students of the University of Pittsburgh traveling in Punta Cana, at least two of whom are residents of Loudoun County, Va., one of whom is the missing person who is also a citizen of India,” the spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said.
The sheriff’s office stated that the Embassy of India in the Dominican Republic is collaborating with the State Department and other law enforcement agencies.
“Our office is supporting those efforts and is continuing to investigate locally,” said a sheriff’s office spokesperson.
“It’s circulating through Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter,” said an anonymous Pitt student. “It just makes you wonder,” the student explained.
The Dominican Civil Defense and other authorities have spent the last few days searching for Konanki. They are walking along beaches and using helicopters.
“I hope she gets found soon,” said the unidentified student. “I think people are concerned because who would think it would be a girl from Pitt?”
The student, who spoke with KDKA-TV on Sunday, claims she and others went days without access to reliable internet. Information was limited until they returned to the United States.
“As soon as we landed in Fort Lauderdale, [that] was whenever we saw everybody posting that a girl had gone missing,” she told me.
After returning, she and the others have a lot of questions. But among those questions is disbelief.
“Someone else’s friend is missing, and it’s frightening. “I can only imagine how they’re feeling right now,” she explained.
