Reports say the parents of Sudiksha Conanki, a missing student at the University of Pittsburgh, are hoping that Dominican Republican officials will declare their 20-year-old daughter dead.
The family sent an official letter to authorities on Monday, admitting that they were not suspected of being involved in Conanki's presumed death after disappearing from Punta Cana Beach early on March 6th. He told ABC News.
His father and mother also wrote that they trusted authorities in investigating the case, and Joshua Libe, who last saw the young woman alive, said he was working with investigators. Local outlet Noticias Sin reportedalso quotes the source.
They also said they understand that certain legal hurdles must be met and are ready to provide the necessary documents, the outlet reported.
The requested “legal declaration” comes on the same day that the lawyer for Riibe, a 22-year-old college student from Iowa, claimed that her client should be released from police surveillance.
Authorities describe him as a person of interest, but he is not a suspect and has not been accused of fraud.
“If he wants to leave the hotel, he can't let it go, but with the police,” lawyer Beatrice Santana told ABC News. “His passport is seized despite not being officially charged.”
Local authorities initially said they believed Conanki was dead in the water, but then they said they had not ruled out foul plays.
Libe claims he and Conanki jumped into the sea outside the hotel where they were staying before running into the rough waters.
He said he now lives in northern Virginia but was able to get himself and the Indian citizen who died soon.
When he woke up on the beach she was gone.
Surveillance images were taken at the bar with other friends at the Riu República Hotel. They were also seen crossed arms all the way to her loss disappearance.
The two met a while after Conanki arrived in the resort town on March 3rd.
