The college student who may have been the last person to see a Virginia 20-year-old who went missing on spring break in the Dominican Republic told investigators about their encounter after they had just met.
A key witness in the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki told investigators in the Dominican Republic that they drank tequila shots with friends, waded into the ocean together and were swept out to sea. The 22-year-old, Joshua Riibe, said he was able to rescue Konanki but she disappeared as he vomited up seawater.
“The last time I saw her, I asked if she was OK. I didn't hear her answer because I started vomiting all the seawater I'd swallowed. After vomiting, I looked around and didn't see anyone. I thought she'd grabbed her things and left. I felt really bad and tired. I lay down on a beach chair and fell asleep because I couldn't go far. Then I woke up because of the sun and mosquito bites. I went to my friend's room to get my phone, and then I went to my room to sleep,” Riibe said, according to a newly released, translated transcript of his interview with investigators on Tuesday.
Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh student from Chantilly, Virginia, was last seen before dawn on March 6. She, Riibe and their friends were on spring break vacations in Punta Cana. Riibe is a St. Cloud University student, his parents said.
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Law enforcement in the Dominican Republic consider Riibe a witness, not a suspect. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, in the community where Konanki’s family lives, called Riibe a person of interest in the missing person case.
‘I never saw her again’
The 22-year-old told investigators he met Konanki when he and his friend introduced themselves to her and her friends. The young women got them all pink tequila shots and they walked to the beach, he said.
At the beach, Riibe and Konanki were talking and kissing in waist-deep water when a wave crashed into them.
“A big wave came and hit us both, and with the rising water, it swept us out to sea,” he said.
“As soon as we were able to surface, we tried to call for help, but there was no one there,” he said.
They did their best to swim, and Riibe said he used his prior experience as a lifeguard.
“I was getting tired,” Riibe said. “I realized she was getting tired of swimming too. I was the lifeguard. I grabbed her and pulled her out. I held her under my arm and swam to get her out of the water.”
“It took a long time to get her out; it was difficult. I was a lifeguard in a pool, not in the ocean. I kept trying to get her to breathe, but that didn't allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water. I could have lost consciousness several times,” he continued. “When I finally reached the ground on the beach, I pulled her in front of me. Then she went to gather her belongings, since the sea had moved us. She wasn't out of the water, as it was up to our knees. She was walking at an angle in the water.”
Then, Riibe said he started vomiting and she disappeared.
“After I saw her walk away, as she walked into the water, I never saw her again,” he said.
Riibe said he learned the next morning that Konanki was gone. He said his friend asked if he had seen her.
“My friend asked me if I knew where the girl was. I told him I thought she had gone to her room, and he told me she never returned,” he said.
Citing his lawyer's guidance, Riibe declined to answer questions about what he told his friend when he was asked about Konanki, whether he knew if she could swim, and whether he told authorities or the hotel about what happened.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said they “conducted an extensive interview” with Riibe a day after local officials interviewed him and he was “cooperative.” They did not release further details.
Konanki graduated from Northern Virginia’s elite Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology and was studying to become an emergency room surgeon. Her parents travelled to Punta Cana then returned home to care for Konanki’s siblings.
Riibe’s parents, Albert and Tina Riibe, said their son is cooperating with the investigation as the family prays Konanki will be found.
“We express our deep sorrow and solidarity with the family of Sudiksha Konanki during this painful time,” they said in a statement. “Above all, we wish to contribute to the search efforts and understand the anguish and uncertainty they are going through and we share the hope that Sudiksha will be found as soon as possible. Joshua Riibe is deeply dismayed by her disappearance and has fully cooperated in the search and clarification of the facts from the very beginning.”
His parents say he was detained and questioned without lawyers or official translators before the interview Wednesday.
Riibe is a land surveying student and beloved son whose “faith and values have guided his path,” his parents said.
Rep. Suhas Subramanyam told NBC Washington on Thursday that he met with Konanki’s parents as the search for her continues.
“She’s just an amazing young woman who’s doing great things, and we’re just praying that she comes home because she has a very bright future,” he said.
Editor’s note (March 14, 2025, 5:30 p.m. ET): A previous version of this report said Joshua Riibe is 24, according to law enforcement officials. He is 22, his parents said in their statement Friday.
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