The father of a 20-year-old college student who has been missing in the Dominican Republic since Thursday is urging authorities to expand their search efforts. Subbarayudu Konanki, speaking to WTOP-FM, is requesting that authorities move away from the assumption that his daughter, Sudiksha Konanki, drowned and consider other possibilities like kidnapping or abduction.
Konanki and his wife traveled to the Dominican Republic after being informed of their daughter’s disappearance. Sudiksha, a University of Pittsburgh student, had been on a spring break trip to the island with five friends. She was last seen early Thursday on the beach with her friends, with surveillance footage showing them leaving the beach around 6 a.m. Sudiksha apparently stayed behind with a man, who was later seen leaving the beach area without her.
Reports indicate that the man accompanying Sudiksha provided conflicting versions of events to authorities. He claimed that they both went into the water, but he felt sick, got out, and fell asleep on a lounge chair. When he woke up, Sudiksha was missing. The man also mentioned that she may have been swept away by a wave or left on her own accord. Konanki’s clothes were found on a beach chair with no signs of violence.
The Konanki family, who resides near Washington, D.C., is actively involved in the search efforts. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office has filed for a Yellow Notice, a worldwide police alert for missing persons, in collaboration with various agencies including the State Department, FBI, and University of Pittsburgh police. They are committed to conducting a thorough investigation before drawing any conclusions about Sudiksha’s disappearance.
They surface; father requests a more thorough search.
