Punta Cana/New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) An Indian-American student named Sudiksha Konanki has gone missing since March 6 in Punta Cana, a resort town in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican authorities have intensified their search for the young woman, who had gone to Punta Cana for a holiday and was spending time at the beach with five friends.
The young woman was staying at the Riu República hotel in the Arena Gorda area. The Riu Hotels & Resorts hotel chain said in a statement that it is collaborating with the authorities to find Sudiksha’s whereabouts.
The father of Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old American student, has urged authorities to expand their investigation and consider the possibility of kidnapping. Subbarayudu Konanki questioned the initial focus on the water, suggesting that if his daughter had drowned, her body would have washed ashore by now.
Sudiksha, a University of Pittsburgh student from Virginia, was last seen before dawn on March 6 near the Riu República Hotel beach, the Dominican Today reported.
Since her disappearance, a multi-agency search effort has been underway, including support from the National Emergency and Security System, POLITUR, Civil Defense, the Dominican Navy, and other authorities. Four drone teams with advanced technology have been deployed to search the coastal area of Bávaro.
Sudiksha had arrived on March 3 with five friends and later met two American tourists, Joshua Steven Ribe and Carter Johnson. On March 5, she had her last contact with family before being seen at a hotel disco with her group.
Around 4:15 a.m. on March 6, she and Ribe, along with four others, went to the beach. By 5:05 a.m., only Konanki and Ribe remained.
After more than three hours without surveillance footage, Ribe was seen leaving alone at 8:52 a.m. Konanki was officially reported missing at 4:00 p.m.
Her disappearance has launched an extensive search operation utilizing advanced technology, including planes and drones
Riu Hotels also indicated that support is being provided to the authorities in the search and an emergency protocol has been activated to ensure that all necessary measures are taken. In addition, they have enabled an internal communication channel so that the employees of the five hotels in the Punta Cana destination who have relevant information can share it with the hotel or the authorities, the news paper reported.
