The family of a University of Pittsburgh student who went missing last week in the Dominican Republic are asking authorities to look into a potential kidnapping, even as police said she probably drowned while going for a swim.
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, an Indian citizen who is a legal permanent resident of the U.S., vanished last Thursday while walking on the beach off of Punta Cana during a spring break trip. Officials said she was walking with six people in the pre-dawn hours and stayed behind with one other person after most of the group returned to the Riu Republica Resort, where they were staying. Konanki, whose family lives in Loudoun County, Virginia, had traveled with five female friends to the island nation.
She was last seen at about 4:15 a.m. on March 6.
Dominican authorities, including the military, have been combing the beach and surveying the water from the air with drones and helicopters, working in concert with the Embassy of India, the U.S. State Department and other federal agencies.
Officials now believe that Konanki and the other person went swimming and that she got caught by a large wave and drowned, ABC News reported, citing an investigative report from Dominican Republic police. Authorities were still working to corroborate the account of the man who was with her, NBC News reported.
Konanki’s parents have requested an investigation into possible kidnapping and have filed a record of complaint in an attempt to broaden the inquiry, WTOP-FM reported Monday.
“It’s four days, and if she was in water, she would likely have been strewn to shore,” said the pre-med student’s father, Subbarayudu Konanki. “She’s not found, so we’re asking them to investigate multiple options, like kidnapping or abduction.”
The record of complaint said the drowning theory didn’t quite hold up.
“While it is possible that Sudiksha drowned, there is a growing suspicion that there may be a crime, specifically the possibility of kidnapping,” the complaint stated, according to WTOP.
The person who was with her was “a stranger,” and the fact that the woman’s friends had her personal items including phone and wallet was “unusual because she always carried her phone with her,” Subbarayudu Konanki said in the complaint. “In light of these circumstances, I respectfully request that the authorities take immediate steps to investigate not only the possibility of an accidental drowning, but also the possibility of a kidnapping or foul play.”