After three days of searching the waters and shores near a resort beach in Punta Cana, where his daughter was last seen, the father of 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki, of South Riding, Virginia, has asked Dominican Republic officials to widen their investigation into kidnapping and abduction.
Konanki, a premed student at the University of Pittsburgh who had graduated from the highly-rated Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Fairfax County, was reported missing Thursday.
His daughter and five female friends from Pitt had traveled to the resort on the Caribbean nation’s east coast, said Subbarayudu Konanki in a WTOP interview.
“For spring break she wanted to have a nice break with her friends in Punta Cana — she came with her friends on March 3rd,” he said. He and his wife, Sreedevi flew to Punta Cana, along with two family friends, upon learning of their daughter’s disappearance.
According to Thomas Julia, spokesman with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Sudiksha Konanki 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.”
The FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, and the University of Pittsburgh police are working to support the ongoing investigation by the Dominican National Police, Julia said.
Sudiksha and her friends had been walking on the beach early Thursday morning. According to her father, “She was last seen at approximately 4:50 a.m. on the beach at the Riu Republica Resort.”
Since then the local investigation has focused in and around the water, “Using helicopters, drones, scuba diving, (surf)boards — and they used sniffer dogs,” said the father.
Defensa Civil, a Dominican Republic search and rescue group, said a full day of searching on Saturday provided no details on her whereabouts, while teams continued the search on Sunday.
Family requests a wider investigation
Sunday, Konanki and family friend Ramprakash Krishnamanaidu filed a record of complaint, seeking to widen the investigation.
“It’s four days, and if she was in water, she would likely have been strewn to shore,” said Konanki. “She’s not found, so we’re asking them to investigate multiple options, like kidnapping or abduction.”
Krishnamanaidu said Dominican officials have been helpful in investigating near the resort. “We had army officials, police officials and we had Mission of Tourism as well.”
The investigation has included “checking surveillance cameras of nearby resorts as well, because they share the same shore.”
According to the record of complaint, “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 provided the name of a person the family described as “a stranger” who was seen with Sudiksha on the beach, with her friends. WTOP is not reporting his name, since he has not been identified as a suspect.
“Her belongings, including personal items like her phone and wallet, were left with her friends, which is unusual because she always carried her phone with her,” according to the report.
“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,” wrote Subbarayudu Konanki.
Family friend Krishnamanaidu agreed: “If she’s not in the water, they couldn’t find her in the resorts, they couldn’t find her in the hospitals — then where is she?”
In sharing the family’s concerns about possible foul play, “I hope our government will help (pressure) the Dominican Republic to investigate this angle,” said Krishnamanaidu.
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