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Sudiksha Konanki's clothes found on lounge chair at Dominican Republic beach where she disappeared
The beachwear found bears a striking resemblance to the clothing Sudiksha Konanki was last seen wearing in surveillance footage captured the night she vanished.
Clothing believed to belong to Sudiksha Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh student who went missing while on a spring break holiday in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, was found on a lounge chair at the beach where she vanished. CDN obtained photos that showed a white netted sarong draped over the beach chair, as well as a pair of beige flip-flops covered with sand kept next to the leg of the sun lounger.
The beachwear reportedly bears a striking resemblance to the clothing Konanki was last seen wearing in surveillance footage captured the night she vanished. The clothing shows no signs of tampering. Law enforcement believe that the Indian-origin woman left her clothes on the lounge chair, and then jumped into the ocean in a brown bikini, eventually drowning.
However, foul play has not been ruled out. Iowa resident Joshua Riibe, a senior at Minnesota’s St. Cloud State University, has been named a person of interest.
Joshua Riibe’s parents speak out
Riibe has been kept under 24 hour surveillance, with sources claiming a high-ranking member of the Public Prosecutor’s Office could intensify interrogations, according to the New York Post. Riibe has reportedly refused to answer several key questions about the case after getting a lawyer.
Meanwhile, Riibe’s parents said in a statement, according to WTAE, “Despite his full willingness to cooperate, Josh has been detained under irregular conditions and subjected to extensive questioning without the presence of official translators or legal counsel until Wednesday, March 12.”
While the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the law enforcement agency in Konanki’s hometown in Virginia, also said Riibe is a person of interest, they added that he was not a suspect. The search already entered its eighth day Saturday, March 15. Missing posters describe Konanki as 5 foot 3 with black hair and brown eyes.
Virginia Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Thomas Julia previously told Fox News Digital that police want to “make sure the investigation is comprehensive and includes all possible assets and techniques.” “We are working closely with the FBI on all of this, and they are working with the Dominican National Police,” Julia added.
