The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia shared to CSBS News that the family of missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, 20, has sent a formal request to police in the Dominican Republic, requesting they declare their daughter dead — nearly two weeks after the 20-year-old went missing on a spring break trip in Punta Cana.
In a letter to Dominican authorities obtained by PEOPLE, Konanki’s parents, Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki, noted that authorities believe she drowned: “Initiating [the death declaration process] will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence. While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.”
Sudiksha’s father also told the New York Post: “Both sides of the authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides of the authorities have clarified the person of interest was not a suspect from the beginning. It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned.”
Konanki’s parents added that Joshua Riibe — the 22-year-old Minnesota college student who was swimming in the ocean with Konanki the night she went missing, and is believed to be the last person to see her alive — is cooperating with the investigation and asked that he be allowed to return to the United States: “The individual last seen with her is cooperating with the investigation, and no evidence of foul play has been found.”
Authorities have said they believe Konanki died by drowning in the early hours of March 6, per ABC News. In a statement later on Tuesday, Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman said: “While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible as we continue to review the evidence and information made available to us in the course of this investigation. The disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki is tragic, and we cannot imagine the grief her family has been feeling. We have also met personally with them and continue to provide emotional support through our Victim Advocate Unit.”
Sudiksha Konanki was last seen in the early morning hours of March 6 on a beach near the resort town’s Riu República hotel where she and her friends and had been staying. Surveillance video from the night she disappeared showed Konanki walking toward the beach with a group of three women and two men, one of whom authorities identified as Riibe.
Riibe — who has not been charged with a crime — has been questioned by prosecutors over three days. He told police he and Konanki were swept into the ocean by a large wave and struggled in rough waters, and had believed Konanki made it out of the water, but was not certain. His lawyers have requested a habeas corpus hearing because they believe he’s being detained illegally and want to prevent him from being placed in custody.
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