With deep sadness, coming to terms that our daughter has drowned: Parents of missing Indian student

The parents of a 20-year-old Indian student, who had gone missing while on vacation in the Dominican Republic, said they are sadly coming to the terms with the fact that their daughter has drowned. Sudiksha Konanki is a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States. A student at the University of Pittsburgh, Konanki was reported to be vacationing with five female college friends at a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. She was reported missing on March 6.

"It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact that our daughter has drowned. This is incredibly difficult for us to process. We kindly ask you to keep our daughter in your prayers," Konanki's father Subbarayudu Konanki said, as he read out a statement in front of the media.

As Subbarayudu Konanki read the statement, his wife Sreedevi, broke down, her face in her hands as she cried inconsolably.


Fighting back tears and consoling his wife, Subbarayudu Konanki said, "We still have two young children to care for and they are at a very tender age. In light of this, we respectfully request some space, time and privacy to focus on healing us and helping our children recover as we try to move forward with our lives."

Loudoun County, Virginia Sheriff Michael Chapman said in a statement Tuesday that Konanki's disappearance is "tragic" and "we cannot imagine the grief her family has been feeling".

"We have supported them throughout to ensure a rigorous, wide-ranging investigation. We have also met personally with them and continue to provide emotional support through our Victim Advocate Unit.

"Sudiksha's family has expressed their belief that she drowned. While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible as we continue to review the evidence and information made available to us in the course of this investigation," Chapman said, as he thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Dominican National Police for their dedication to this investigation and collaboration.

Konanki, a resident of Loudoun County, Virginia, was reported missing while vacationing on a spring break trip in Punta Cana and was last seen in the early morning of March 6.

Loudoun County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) had said that the investigation included wide-ranging search efforts, along with a review of surveillance video and telephone records.

Interviews were also conducted with anyone who may have seen or been with Konanki before she went missing.

An ABC News report had said that after going to a nightclub on the night of March 5, Konanki and a group of people went to the beach about 4 am local time on Thursday, March 6.

The report quotes sources as saying that the other women travelling with Konanki went back to their hotel about 5:55 am, with security cameras capturing their return to their rooms.

"A man stayed behind with Konanki on the beach," according to a Dominican Republic investigative police report earlier this month.

"The man, whose name was not released, told police that he and Konanki went for a swim and got caught by a big wave," the police report said, according to the ABC News report.

The man is understood to have told the police that when he got back to the beach, he threw up and went to sleep on a beach bed. "When he woke up, Konanki was nowhere to be seen," the report had said.

Sources have said that the man, who was seen in security video coming back to his hotel room at 9:55 am, is "not considered a suspect in Konanki's death".

Officials said Konanki's friends who were with her around the time of her disappearance were also questioned by police and have not been charged, the ABC News report said.

A CNN report said this week that authorities in the Dominican Republic had confiscated the passport of the man who is the last person known to have been with Konanki.

Dominican Republic Attorney General Yeni Berenice Reynoso interviewed the man, Joshua Steven Riibe, over the weekend for more than six hours and the questioning is expected to continue Monday with a local prosecutor, the source said.

Riibe is not considered a suspect in the case and has not been accused of wrongdoing, the CNN report said.