Investigators are still searching for University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Conanki, who went missing during a spring break trip with a college friend in the Dominican Republic last week.
Several international institutions have been searching for students since the investigation was lost on March 6th as it is approaching its second week.
This is what we know about the incident.
Who is Sudiksha Konanki?
Conanki is a 20-year-old biology junior at the University of Pittsburgh, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia. She is an Indian citizen and a permanent resident of the United States and lives with her family in Chantilly, Virginia, in Loudoun County.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, she traveled to Punta Cana on March 3rd with a group of five other female friends from Pitt.
Conanki is also found in the university’s a cappella group Avaaz, according to a post on the group’s Instagram social media account.
When was Conanki the last time you saw it?
Conanki was last seen early on March 6th after a trip to the beach with a friend.
She disappeared that day at 4:15am, after a friend left the beach and fell behind with people Conanki met while on the trip.
Security videos showed Conanki and her friends going into the beach area of the RIU Republica resort where they were staying, Dominican Republican national police said.
Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman told NBC Washington on Monday that Conanki’s friend returned to the hotel about 40 minutes later, and that Conanki was with others she met and others who were not friends at university.
One of the last people in contact with the missing student said “waves hit while they were on the beach, causing some kind of situation,” Dominican President Louis Abinader cited a local report at a press conference Monday. Abinader said it was time they were still trying to piece together what happened.
Conanki’s friends went on an excursion on Thursday and didn’t realize she had disappeared until she returned about 12 hours later.
The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office was subsequently notified of her loss, Chapman said.
National Police launched a search effort for Conanki on Friday morning, using drones, helicopters, divers, boats and dog units to find out she was missing. Search efforts were expanded on Monday.
Conanki’s friends were to return to the United States on Friday, but sheriff’s spokesman Thomas Julia returned to help her search.
The hotel said beach access is open at all times and security guards are located around the hotel and area.
What do you know about the research?
Several agencies have been involved in investigating Conanki’s loss of failure. It is led by communications from the Dominican police, the Dominican Attorney General’s Office, the FBI and the US Embassy. The US Coast Guard is also involved in the investigation.
Julia, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, told NBC News that people of interest were identified and interviewed at length. The sheriff’s office has no jurisdiction over the case, but sent detectives to the island to assist local investigators.
Those interested “it’s not the same as the suspect, as this is not a criminal matter. It’s a case of someone who’s still missing,” Julia said.
National Police said Thursday morning that they had not used the term “interested person” in their investigation and that no one was considered a suspect at this point.
The University of Pittsburgh said it has contacted Conanki’s family and is providing support in the investigation. The Indian Embassy in the Dominican Republic is also supporting the investigation, Chapman said.
Conanki’s family traveled to Punta Cana to support their search efforts, but as of Thursday they returned to Virginia. They declined to comment on her search.
Local Dominican Republic Emergency Services Agency, La Altagracia Civil Defense, shared photos of multiple agencies searching on the beach over the weekend. The hotel also said it was supporting the search efforts.
Authorities say it’s not clear whether her loss was a coincidence or whether foul plays were involved.
No blood or signs of violence were found on the beach, Pesqueira said.
National police dispatch teams to monitor the beach at least overnight, watch how the water moves to see where the body drifts if someone owns, and see where the waves crash.
A hotel spokesperson said the red flag, indicating that at the time of Conanki’s loss, “there were strong currents and very high waves in the sea.”
On Thursday morning, Dominican authorities said the search was moving from the RIU Republic Resort to Macau Beach.
Officials said they were interviewing Conanki’s friends, the people who last interacted with her, hotel staff and people who were on the beach at the same time as her.
Loudoun County Sheriff Chapman said authorities are also considering Conanki’s phone calls and texts. He said she doesn’t seem to have a history of excessive drinking.
The Sheriff’s Office said Interpol submitted it to issue a yellow notice.
“We estimate that she is still alive,” Chapman said Monday. “We want to make sure we are tired of the leads as much as we can.
