Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old Indian-origin student from the University of Pittsburgh, has been reported missing from a resort in the Dominican Republic, where she had travelled with friends for their spring break. According to a report by New York Post, Konaki was last seen on March 6, while travelling with a group on the beach of the Riu Republica Hotel in the resort town of Punta Cana.
In a social media post on Saturday, the Indian Embassy in the Dominican Republic confirmed it was in contact with Konanki’s parents and extending all possible assistance in the search. Meanwhile, the sheriff’s office in Loudoun County, Virginia, where Konanki resides, stated that she was at the beach resort with five other women friends from the University of Pittsburgh.
According to local officials, the 20-year-old is said to have vanished while walking on the beach wearing a bikini. Authorities at the Riu Republica Hotel reported that Konanki's friends alerted them to her disappearance at around 4 p.m. on March 6, with her last known sighting being at approximately 4 a.m. earlier that day.
According to a report by CNN, Konanki’s father, Subbarayudu Konanki, provided further details, explaining that his daughter had gone to the beach for a party at around 4 a.m. on March 6 with her friends and some individuals they had met at the resort.
"Her friends came back after some time and my daughter did not come back, did not show up from the beach. So far, multiple authorities in the Dominican Republic have searched the waters. They searched using helicopters and other tools. They also searched near the bay, bushes, trees. They went multiple times around the same areas," he said.
A missing person’s poster describes Konanki as 5 feet 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. At the time she went missing, she was wearing a brown bikini, big round earrings, a metal designer anklet on her right leg, yellow and steel bracelets on her right hand, and a multicoloured beaded bracelet on her left hand.
Expressing concern over the scope of the search, Konaki's father suggested that authorities should not only focus on the water and surrounding areas of the resort but should also consider other possibilities, including kidnapping and human trafficking.
In a statement, the University of Pittsburgh expressed its deep concern, stating, "We are in contact with Sudiksha Konanki’s family as well as authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia, and we have offered our full support in their efforts to find her and bring her home safely."