The researchers are still looking for Sudiksha Konanki, a student at the University of Pittsburgh who disappeared while on a spring vacation trip with his university friends in the Dominican Republic last week.
Multiple international agencies have been looking for the student since his disappearance on March 6 when the investigation approaches his second week.
This is what we know about the case.
Who is Sudiksha Konanki?
Konanki is a 20 -year -old biology student at the University of Pittsburgh, according to the Sheriff’s office, of the Loudoun County. He is an Indian citizen and permanent resident of the United States who lives with his family in Chantilly, Virginia, who is in Loudoun County.
He traveled to Punta Cana on March 3 with a group of five other Pitt friends for his spring vacation trip, according to the Sheriff’s office.
Konanki is also found in the Cappella group of the fusion of southern Asia, Avaaz, in the university, according to a publication in the group’s social media account of the group.
When was Konanki for the last time?
Konanki was last seen in the early hours of March 6 after going to the beach with friends.
She disappeared after 4:15 am that day, after her friends left the beach and Konanki stayed with people she met while on the trip.
The security video showed Konanki and his friends entering the beach area at the Riu Republic resort where they stayed, said the Dominican Republican National Police.
The Sheriff of the Loudoun County, Michael Chapman, told NBC Washington on Monday that Konanki’s friends returned to the hotel after about 40 minutes, and that Konanki stayed with the others he met and that they were not friends of the university.
One of the last people who had contact with the missing student said that “a wave hit them while they were on the beach and caused some kind of situation,” said Dominican President Luis Abinader, at a press conference on Monday, citing local reports. Abinader said at that time that they were still trying to put together what happened.
Konanki’s friends were an excursion on Thursday and did not realize that he had disappeared until they returned, approximately 12 hours later, at which time they told the hotel about his missing friend, said Diego Pesqueira, spokesman for the National Police, Diego Pesqueira.
The Sheriff’s Office of Loudoun County was notified of his disappearance, said Chapman.
The National Police launched a search effort for Konanki on Friday morning after he knew he was missing, using drones, helicopters, divers, ships and canine units. The search effort was extended on Monday.
Konanki’s friends were supposed to return to the United States on Friday, but they stayed behind to help her in the search for her, said Sheriff’s office spokesman Thomas Julia.
The hotel said that access to the beach is always open and that security guards are parked around the hotel and area.
What do we know about research?
Multiple agencies are involved in the investigation of Konanki’s disappearance. It is directed by the Dominican Police, the Office of the Dominican Attorney General, the FBI and a link of the United States Embassy. The United States Coast Guard is also involved in the investigation.
An interest person has been identified and was interviewed in detail, said Julia, spokesman for the Sheriff’s office, NBC News. The Sheriff’s office has no jurisdiction on the case, but sent detectives to the island to help local researchers.
A person of interest “is not the same as a suspect, since this is not a criminal issue. It is still a case of missing person,” said Julia.
The National Police said Thursday morning that they do not use the term “person of interest” in their investigations and that no one is considered suspicious at this time.
The Pittsburgh University said it was in contact with Konanki’s family and offering support in research. The Indian embassy in the Dominican Republic is also helping in the investigation, said Chapman.
Konanki’s family had traveled to Punta Cana to help search efforts, but until Thursday he had returned to Virginia. They refused to comment on her search.
The Civil Defense of Altagracia, the Emergency Operations Agency of the local Dominican Republic, shared photos of several agencies they were looking for on the beach during the weekend. The hotel was also helping in search efforts, he said.
The authorities have said that it is not clear if their disappearance is accidental or if the dirty game was involved.
There were no signs of blood or violence on the beach, said Pesqueira.
The National Police sent equipment to monitor the beach during the night at least twice to observe how water moves to see where a body would deviate if someone drown and to see where the waves crash.
A hotel spokesman said that the red flags, which indicate “the sea had a strong current and very high current,” they flew at the time of Konanki’s disappearance.
On Thursday morning, the Dominican authorities said the search was moving from the resort of Riu Republic to Macao Beach.
The authorities said they were interviewing Konanki’s friends and those who interact with her for the last time, as well as the hotel staff and a person who was on the beach at the same time as her.
The authorities are also investigating the phone and Konanki’s text messages, said Chaudon County Sheriff. She didn’t seem to have an excessive history of alcohol consumption, she said.
The Sheriff’s office said he asked Interpol to issue a yellow warning, a world police alert of a missing person who will alert the authorities if he travels to another country.
“We are in the presumption that she is still alive,” Chapman said on Monday. “We want to make sure that we are running out all the possible plants we can, and we believe we are doing that.”
