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When was Sudiksha Konanki last seen? Indian-origin US student missing in Dominican Republic
Sudiksha Konanki was last seen early Thursday morning on the beach of the Riu Republica Hotel in Punta Cana, according to Dominican National Emergency System.
Authorities in the Dominican Republic continue to search for 20-year-old Indian-origin US university student Sudiksha Konanki, who went missing while vacationing in Punta Cana. Civil defence officials were quoted by the Associated Press as saying that she was last seen before dawn on March 6 at a beach near the resort where she was staying with friends.
Konanki is currently a student at the University of Pittsburgh.
When was Sudiksha Konanki last seen?
According to the Dominican National Emergency System, Sudiksha Konanki was last seen early Thursday morning on the beach of the Riu Republica Hotel in Punta Cana.
The Dominican National Police stated that she disappeared at 4:15 a.m. local time. Her companions reported her missing at 4 pm, nearly 12 hours after her last sighting at 4 am, according to a Spanish-language statement from the Riu hotel chain, CNN reported.
CNN report added that surveillance footage from a location near the beach captured Konanki with a group of young adults. Police are questioning those last seen with her to determine the focus of the maritime search. This includes a young man who entered the water, with authorities working to verify his account alongside other undisclosed investigative measures.
A missing person notice describes Konanki as “5 feet 3 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes.” She was last seen wearing a brown bikini, large round earrings, a metal designer anklet on her right leg, yellow and steel bracelets on her right hand, and a multicoloured beaded bracelet on her left hand.
The University of Pittsburgh confirmed that it is working with her family and Virginia authorities to aid in the search.
"University officials are in contact with Sudiksha Konanki’s family as well as authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia, and we have offered our full support in their efforts to find her and bring her home safely," university spokesperson Jared Stonesifer said.
Defensa Civil, the Dominican Republic’s search and rescue force, began searching for Konanki on Saturday and planned to continue their efforts early Sunday morning.
Where was she staying?
Sudiksha Konanki was staying at the Riu Republica Resort with five other female students from the University of Pittsburgh, CNN quoted the sheriff’s office in Loudoun County, Virginia, where she resides, as saying.
The Loudoun County sheriff’s office said it was notified on Thursday evening and has since coordinated with “federal law enforcement, the US State Department, and contacts in the DR.”
“The embassy of India in the DR has taken the lead working with our state department and law-enforcement on the ground. Our office is supporting those efforts and continuing to investigate locally,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement to CNN.
Konanki’s family, originally from India, has been a permanent resident of the US since 2006. The Embassy of India said on Facebook that it is “extending all assistance in coordination with government authorities of the Dominican Republic.”
