The FBI has joined the search for a 20-year-old college student who went missing in the Dominican Republic on a spring break trip with friends, according to the Associated Press.
Sudiksha Konanki, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, was last seen early on Thursday, March 6, walking on a beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana, according to the Dominican Republic National Police.
Konanki — a resident of Virginia’s Loudoun County and citizen of India — was staying at the resort hotel with five friends who arrived in the country on March 3, officials said.
Both U.S. and local law enforcement have been investigating what happened to her, including seeking to corroborate the account of a person who was with her on the beach, according to police. No charges have been filed.
Also assisting in the investigation is the Embassy of India in the Dominican Republic.
Konanki is believed to have drowned in the ocean after being caught by a strong wave when she and the other person went for a swim on the beach, ABC News reports, citing a Dominican Republic investigative police report.
However, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia pushed back on that theory, saying in a statement to PEOPLE, “There is no evidence or confirmation of a drowning at this time and the case is being aggressively investigated by U.S. law enforcement working with the Dominican national police, with support from assets here at home. This includes all persons of interest who may have seen or been with her. Our office believes all possibilities need to be explored, as well as any evidence that may be uncovered to learn happened based on her last known whereabouts.”
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Konanki’s father has asked authorities to widen the investigation to include the possibility that his daughter has been a victim of kidnapping or human trafficking.
“We don’t think she would be able to survive for more than three days in the water and I think something else might’ve happened to her,” Subbarayudu Konanki recently told CNN.
Konanki’s body has yet to be recovered amid a “sea, air and land” search “in the entire periphery and surrounding areas, through the use of drones, helicopters, divers, boats, canine units and human personnel, among other technologies,” police said.
A missing persons poster described Sudiksha as 5 feet 3 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a brown bikini, round earrings, an anklet and several bracelets.
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