What Happened to College Student Who Vanished on Spring Break Trip in the Dominican Republic? What We Know So Far

Mar. 15, 2025

Sudiksha Konanki.Photo:linkedin

College Student, 20, Missing After Going for a Beach Walk During Spring Break Trip to the Dominican Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was last seen on March 6 at 4.50am on the beach at Riu Republica Resort. She has not been seen or heard from since.

Dominican Republic National Policepreviously said Konanki, 20, was with her friends at a beach resort in the town of Punta Cana. The friends returned to their hotel, but Konaki reportedly stayed behind with a man. She had not been seen since.

“The Konanki family is going through an incredibly difficult time, and we are deeply saddened,” her family said in a statement shared withUSA Today. “We kindly request privacy as we cope with this challenging moment together.”

As the investigation continues, Dominican officials have said they believeshe may have drowned, but the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, where the student is from,disputed thattheory.

Here is what we know about her disappearance so far.

Who Is Sudiksha Konanki?

In a news release shared on Sunday, March 9, theLoudon County Sheriff’s Office, which is working with federal law enforcement agencies, said she is a 20-year-old female from Chantilly, Va., as well as a student at the University of Pittsburgh. The department added that Sudiksha is a citizen of India and a permanent resident in the U.S.

Speaking withCNN, her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, said his daughter is “ambitious” and wants “to pursue a career in medicine.”

According to herLinkedIn profile, Sudiksha graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria in 2022.

A missing persons poster described Sudiksha as 5-foot-3-inches tall with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a brown bikini, round earrings, an anklet and several bracelets.

Why Was She in Punta Cana?

According to her father, Sudkisha traveled to the Dominican Republic to spend time with friends. “She wanted to have a nice break with her friends in Punta Cana — she came with her friends on March 3rd,” Subbarayudu Konanki toldWTOP.

In a previous statement, local police said Sudiksha was last seen in the early hours of March 6, when she entered the beach of the RIU Hotel in Punta Cana — a town known for its longest white sand coastlines.

RIU Hotels and Resorts,which was founded in 1953 in Mallorca, Spain, maintainsfive hotels in Punta Cana.

“We would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends during this incredibly difficult time,” they added. “The safety and well-being of our guests are our highest priority, and we are fully committed to doing everything in our power to assist in this situation.”

Who Was She With Before Her Disappearance?

The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office said that prior to her disappearance, Sudkisha was reportedly with five female college friends at a resort. Meanwhile, her father told CNN that his daughter went to the beach on March 6 “with friends and some other guys they met at the resort.”

The Dominican Republic National Police also stated that surveillance cameras captured footage of Sudiksha and “the young foreigners who accompanied her” about “a few meters from entering the beach area” around 4:15 a.m.

How Was She Discovered Missing?

Sudiksha’s father told CNN that “her friends came back after some time and my daughter did not come back, did not show up from the beach.” Additionally, two police sources toldABC Newsthat the other women who were with Sudiksha returned to their hotel around 5:55 a.m.

According to a local police source, Sudiksha is believed to have stayed behind with a man, CNN reported. Surveillance footage captures the man leaving the beach around 9:55 a.m., but Sudiksha was nowhere to be seen.

Sudiksha Konanki.Facebook

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Has Anyone Been Questioned or Arrested?

So far, no one has been charged or accused of a crime in the case.

The Dominican Republic National Police said in its March 9 statement that a person who was with Sudiksha when she entered the beach of the hotel in Punta Cana on March 6 “is under investigation.”

“It is reported that the young man who entered the waters of the aforementioned beach was interviewed during the investigation process,” said the police at the time, “which is why investigators are expanding the investigative process to corroborate the version that he offered in a preliminary manner.”

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Police said on March 9 that authorities were interviewing several people “mainly the companions of the missing young woman, whose names are being withheld, in order to establish the exact location of the maritime search and its surroundings.”

What’s Next?

TheAssociated Pressreported on Tuesday, March 11, that the FBI has also joined in the search.

However, the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office haspushed back on that, saying that they “caution anyone from drawing any unsubstantiated conclusions and are committed to ensuring that a thorough investigation is conducted before any conclusions are reached.”

“The [sheriff’s office] is hopeful for the safe return of Konanki, and we are committed to supporting this investigation and her family in every way possible,” they added.

Defensa Civil Dominicana/Facebook

Police sources with knowledge of the investigation told ABC News that Sudiksha’sclothes were discoveredon a portable beach bed near the beach where she disappeared. There were reportedly no indications of violence.

“It’s four days, and if she was in water, she would likely have been strewn to shore,” Subbarayudu added.

source: people.com