Joshua Steven Riibe, the last individual seen with Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old college student who went missing during a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic, has departed the country. His lawyer stated that Riibe was never considered a suspect in the case, which has deeply concerned the family of the missing student.
Riibe, 22, left for the United States on Wednesday night, accompanied by his father, following ten days of questioning by Dominican authorities. Sudiksha Konanki vanished on March 6 while vacationing with friends in Punta Cana. Her parents recently stated that they believe she may have drowned.
Officials reported that Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud State University from Rock Rapids, Iowa, was not an active suspect in the investigation according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia. Riibe described having his passport confiscated but was later issued a new one at the U.S. Consulate.
The investigation revealed that Konanki, a pre-med student from the University of Pittsburgh, had arrived in the Dominican Republic on March 3. Witnesses reported seeing her and Riibe together near a beach late on March 6, the night of her disappearance. The Loudoun County detectives who interviewed Riibe confirmed his full cooperation during the investigation, with claims that he attempted to rescue her from the water.
In response to Konanki's disappearance, Dominican authorities conducted thorough searches involving drones, divers, boats, and police dogs, but no trace of her has been found thus far. Konanki’s father emphasized that they do not hold Riibe accountable for their daughter's disappearance and suspect she may have drowned during the incident.
