As Sudiksha Konanki, a missing spring break college student, entered the eighth day, a retired FBI agent said that passing daily would result in a loss of “forensic ability.”
“There's evidence in the body so that you can determine the cause of your death,” retired FBI agent Scott Duffy told Fox News Digital. “If every day passes, if she is not taken to the lure, she is actually out in the water and if she passes every day, she loses some forensic abilities.”
Duffy said international investigations with multiple governments involved (both US and India) have been complicated by Dominican Republic authorities, suggesting Conanki owned after going into the water after spending the night with friends.
“You brought in two major governments that say, 'Let's do a little more research before we commit to the theory of drowning,'” he said. “If you don't have the body now, Dominican authorities should never make such comments. That's more frustrating than anything else with their families, but of course, the reputation of the police department.”
American College Student Suddiksha Konanki's Lost Disappearance in the Dominican Republic: Timeline
Sudiksha Konanki on Facebook selfie. The 20-year-old junior at the University of Pittsburgh has been missing since March 6th. She disappeared during a spring break trip to a five-star resort in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic. (Sudiksha konanki/facebook)
On Thursday, Dominican Republic authorities changed the song Searched on release Missing University of Pittsburgh students can “extend accidental events” and “examine all variables.”
Duffy said Dominican Republic authorities were likely to be “the first failure.”
“I believe there is a misstep when you call something earlier earlier,” he said. “Has there been a crime scene investigation done? [Konanki’s] Have you found any clothes? ”
clock:
Conanki was last seen on hotel surveillance video on March 6th just after 4am.
The young man seen in Conanki earlier can be seen in surveillance footage entering the hotel around 9am on March 6th.
Missing Americans in Dominican Republic: No suspects reach a week of search for Sudicsha Konanki
The country's national police, La Policia Nacional, later said the young people were under investigation.
He reportedly said he was in the waters of the same beach, and authorities had questioned him in an attempt to support the events of his version, according to a translation of a Spanish statement from police.
20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki was last seen on March 6, 2025 on the beach outside the five-star RIU Republica resort in the Dominican Republic. (Santiago Baez from Fox News Digital)
Local outlet Noticias Sin Similarly, the man who was a guest at the same resort was the last person seen along with Conanki, and reportedly told several different versions of what happened.
The man reportedly went into the water with Conanki, but the rough waves made him sick, so he returned to the shore and left Conanki in the water.
In another version of the story, he says he's sick and leaves Conanki in the deep waters of his knees before he dies on the beach. Local reports say the man further claimed he saw Conanki walking along the beach before falling asleep on the beach.
Authorities said they found her sandals and a salon-style beach gown in a chair by the beach.
Local authorities are searching for Sudiksha Konanki, a US university student in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on March 11, 2025. (Santiago Baez from Fox News Digital)
Duffy said that the evidence and witness testimony “Tell me the story.”
“The big question is, whether they had addiction levels for either of them,” he said. “I don't want to cast a shadow on this individual just because he's drunk and it's distorted his memory.”
“He remembers things differently, and it's only natural that the story will change,” Duffy said. “And evidence that can help support personal testimony, whether it is vomiting found on the beach.”
Sudiksha Konanki, a US university student, went missing on March 6, 2025 while on vacation with a friend at Punta Cana. (Fox News Graphics)
The retired FBI agent said that if the subject of the interview is deceptive or simply does not recall the details, authorities “can get a good feeling.”
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“And as long as he remains supportive, he has nothing to hide, so that will be useful for the additional information that comes out,” he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI for comment.
Oudrey Conklin of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
