Punta Cana, Dominican Republic – The beach section where University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki disappeared during spring break last week is the same place where four European tourists owned in January.
It is known to be dangerous with rough waves and strong, unpredictable currents, said Lewis Birches, a Dominican lawyer who has not been involved in the case.
“All beaches in the Macau area, Ubelo Alto, where this is located, are Punta Cana beaches that need to be careful about because when those waves are strong, they drag you out into the ocean,” he told Fox News Digital.
A key witness of American College student loss disaster tells police how they met and what happened on the beach
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, from Northern Virginia, was reported missing on March 6 after disappearing from a beach in the Dominican Republic. (handouts, left; Defensive Citizen Dominicana, right)
In January, multiple people owned, others were rescued from the beach behind the same resort where Conanki was last seen. The first three recovered were identified as European tourists, two from Poland and the other from Portugal.
According to local newspaper Bavaro Digital, the body of the third Polish national was found to have been washed the next day.
Birches said there was a red warning flag flying on the morning of Conanki's loss of. But she and her friends may have been unsuspecting victims after drinking the night over the early morning hours the next day on March 5th.
Missing Americans in Dominican Republic: No suspects reach a week of search for Sudicsha Konanki
Sudiksha Konanki, a US university student, went missing on March 6, 2025 while on vacation with a friend at Punta Cana. (Fox News Graphics)
Around 4:15am, Conanki was part of a group of six women and two men seen in surveillance video approaching the beach. Six of them returned around 6am and Conanki remained alone on the beach with 22-year-old Iowa, Joshua Libe.
Libe, a fellow spring breaker from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, works with authorities and has not been appointed a suspect, but Conanki is the only person who returned alone around 10am.
“People who get drunk in the middle of the night don't take that into consideration,” Billches said. “That particular beach wave can be dangerous in normal circumstances, but when the red flags rise, they're even more.”
American college students disappear in the Dominican Republic: Timeline
Authorities say Conanki and her friends were seen at the hotel bar along with drinks before heading to the beach behind the resort.
On March 10th, we search for Sudiksha Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh student who disappeared on the beach in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic. (AP/FrancescoSpotorno)
“In the video, the two are seen walking sideways. They couldn't walk straight,” he told Fox News Digital, referring to Konanki's last known surveillance video. “If they were in the water back then, the waves could have easily done everything he said.”
Libe allegedly told authorities that the two were swept by strong waves and carried the coastline, according to one transcript in an interview with police. After struggling to return to the land, he said he was thrown out of swallowing salt water.
A hotel horror story appears after an American college student goes missing as the resort claims connection
After disappearing from the beach in Punta Cana on March 6, 2025, investigators expanded their search area as American university student Sudiksha Konanki remains missing. (Fox News Graphics)
“I asked if she was okay. I started vomiting all the seawater I swallowed, so I didn't hear her reaction,” Libe said. “After the vomiting, I looked around and saw no one. I thought she had grabbed hers and left. I was really very tired. I lay in a chair on the beach, unable to go far due to the sun and mosquito biting and fell asleep later as I woke up.
He then fell asleep in a chair on the beach and was seen returning to the hotel around 10am.
Experts previously told Fox News Digital that beaches are known for their strong currents, unpredictable and could change without warning.
Authorities are looking for US student Sudiksha Konanki in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Santiago Baez from Fox News Digital)
“Punta Cana is located in the Mona Passage, which connects the Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico,” says Andrew Wolfek. Fox Meteorologist The digital content producer explained. He looked into coastal records from the time of Conanki's loss.
“Unlike the more predictable patterns common on beaches along the East Coast of the US, as is the commonplace where the two waterways meet, swells can be volatile and difficult to predict.”
While some experts have problems with his story, Billches said he doesn't think he has time to commit a foul play and hide the evidence.
“There's someone coming down to Sunbathe at 6am,” he told Fox News Digital. “If he had killed her, he would have never had time to take her anywhere without being seen.”
Unpredictable currents, beachfront pose big search challenges
He said the resort and the competitors in the neighborhood all have cameras.
“The drunk man would not have had the mental ability to make her own and throw her into the flow, and I'm fortunate that his body has not been discovered now,” he said.
People on the beach at RIU Republica Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on Thursday, March 13th, 2025. (Santiago Baez from Fox News Digital)
Riibe is working with the authorities and has not been named a suspect. However, in a statement Friday, his parents said they were worried about the “irregular condition” they faced during the first six days of the investigation.
“Despite his willingness to cooperate, Josh was detained under irregular conditions and exposed to widespread questions until Wednesday, March 12th without the presence of official translators or lawyers,” his parents, Albert and Tina Libe, said through lawyers.
“He remained in his hotel room under police surveillance and has been repeatedly taken to the police station since March 6th, where he has been questioned for a long time. This situation has sparked serious concerns within the family, leading to maintaining legal action and maintaining legal action to ensure the protection of his rights through this process.”
A hotel horror story appears after an American college student goes missing as the resort claims connection
Authorities are looking for US student Sudiksha Konanki in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on Thursday, March 13, 2025. (Santiago Baez from Fox News Digital)
The family said they were willing to continue working with the search efforts and wanted to share their “deep sadness and solidarity” with the Conanki family.
“More than anything, we want to contribute to our search efforts and understand the anguish and uncertainty they are experiencing, and share our hopes that Sudhiksha will be found as soon as possible,” they said. “Joshua Libe was deeply disappointed Her disappearance And from the beginning, we have fully cooperated in searching and clarifying facts. ”
Conanki's location remains unknown, and officials say they are working in the missing person's case It's not a criminal investigation But they keep all the possibilities open. Meanwhile, experts say the body tends to float on the coast within a few days. She disappeared on March 6th.
On Thursday, March 13th, 2025, I was enjoying my time at the beach at RIU Republica Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Santiago Baez from Fox News Digital)
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Dominican police are leading the investigation with support from several US agencies, including the FBI and Homeland Security. Investigators from the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, in Conanki's hometown, sent two detectives to Punta Cana with permission from Dominican authorities. They interviewed Libe on Thursday, conducted several independent jobs on the ground and returned to the US on Friday.
“Mr. Libe is not a suspect in any way or form,” a sheriff's spokesman told Fox News Digital.
