20-year-old college student missing on spring break trip to Dominican Republic
The search is on to locate a University of Pittsburgh student who went missing while on a spring break trip in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
According to a flyer posted on Instagram, 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki was last seen on March 6 at 4:50 a.m. on the beach at Riu Republica Resort and has not been heard from since.
"We need your help to get the word out," the post read. "If you are in the area or can help with the search, or if you have any information that could lead to her whereabouts, please reach out."
She is described as 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. The flyer said she is a resident of Ashburn, Virginia, and is a student at the University of Pittsburgh.
The post said she was last seen wearing a brown, two-piece bikini, big round earrings, a metal designer anklet on her right leg, yellow and steel bracelets on her right hand, and a multicolored beaded bracelet on her left hand.
The University of Pittsburgh released a statement saying, "University officials 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."
Following her disappearance, spokesman Thomas Julia of the Loudon County Sheriff's Office in Virginia said roughly five other students from the university traveled to the same resort where Konanki was last seen.
"We now believe there were six female students of the University of Pittsburgh traveling in Punta Cana,” Julia said. “At least two of whom, including the missing person, are residents of Loudoun County.”
Julia also said the missing student is also a citizen of India, “so, the embassy of India in the Dominican Republic has taken the lead on the ground, working with our State Department and local law enforcement there.”
He said the FBI has been briefed on the situation.
According to a social media post from Defensa Civil, a Dominican Republic search and rescue force, crews are working to search for the missing student. In translation to English, the post said, in part:
"In coordination with staff from various institutions, we maintain an extensive search work in the coastal area of Bavarian. Where is the missing young Indian nationality Sudiksha Konanki, several brigades have been deployed by sea and land, to find out the whereabouts of foreigners."
The post said first responders, including civil defense officials, local firefighters and police are coordinating the search effort.
On Sunday evening, three Dominican officials said the Pitt student may have died by drowning after she went for a swim and was caught by a big wave.
Hearst sister station WTAE spoke with Loudon County Sheriff Michael Chapman via Zoom on Sunday. According to the sheriff, Konanki and five of her friends traveled to the Dominican Republic on Monday before she was last seen on Thursday.
Chapman was asked if there was the possibility of Konanki drowning.
“We don’t know. I mean, we’re hoping that’s not the case. We’re praying that’s not the case. We’re hoping that she will be found,” Chapman said. “I don’t believe that information has been confirmed. Until it’s confirmed, we’re going to make sure that we’re doing everything in our power to find out what happened, who she was with, what may have happened, and rule out anything else that may have been a circumstance involving this.”
It's unclear if her disappearance was an accident or if foul play was involved.
“We’re not ruling anything in or out, and until we get any kind of a final conclusion as to where she may be and if anything tragic happened to her, we’re just going on the assumption that this is an ongoing investigation,” Chapman said.
According to Konanki's LinkedIn profile, she graduated in 2022 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology where she earned a diploma in biological sciences.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Thomas Jefferson as the No. 1 high school in America in 2021 and 2022.
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office at 703-777-1021.