Joshua Riibe, the last person seen with missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, was detained once again while traveling back to the United States—this time in Puerto Rico—due to an issue with his travel documents.
The Iowa native was stopped by airport officials at Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport while attempting to board a connecting flight home. According to local news outlet Noticias Sin, authorities flagged his paperwork because his temporary travel documents from the Dominican Republic had not been properly stamped.
Riibe’s father, Albert, appeared visibly frustrated when speaking to reporters at the airport. “I’m just a dad who had his son taken away… We just spent two weeks trying to stay together,” he told news cameras.
This latest delay comes just after a Dominican judge officially allowed Riibe to leave the country. After a nearly five-hour hearing on Tuesday, Judge Elvis Delgado ruled that the 22-year-old was free to return home.
Dominican authorities had previously confiscated his passport and restricted his movement while questioning him multiple times about Konanki’s disappearance.
During the hearing, Riibe pleaded with the court, saying, “I really want to be able to go home, talk to my family, give them hugs, tell them I miss them,” according to Dominican news outlet Noticias SIN. “I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been ten days and I can’t leave.”
Despite being named a person of interest by authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia—where Konanki’s family lives—Riibe has not been charged with any crime, nor have Dominican officials declared him a suspect.
The Night of Konanki’s Disappearance
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was last seen at approximately 4:15 a.m. on March 6, when surveillance footage captured her walking toward the beach at the RIU Hotel and Resort in Punta Cana. She was on a spring break trip with friends, and security cameras showed her linking arms with Riibe as part of a group heading toward the water, according to The Mirror US.
Most of the group was seen leaving the beach around 5:55 a.m., but Riibe was later spotted returning to his hotel room alone—without Konanki.
In recent days, her devastated parents have requested that authorities officially declare their daughter deceased, stating that they believe she drowned in the rough ocean waves that morning. They have also made it clear that they do not suspect Riibe of wrongdoing.
“Both sides of the authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides have clarified that the person of interest was never a suspect,” said her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, in a statement to The New York Post.
“It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned,” he added.
Riibe’s Account of That Night
Riibe, a student at St. Cloud State College in Minnesota, told investigators that he and Konanki had been drinking on the beach and kissing in waist-deep water when a powerful tide swept them further out to sea. A former lifeguard, Riibe said he managed to pull Konanki back to shore, but after vomiting from exhaustion, he assumed she had gathered her belongings and left. He later expressed shock upon learning that she was missing.
However, Private Investigator, T.J. Ward, told News Nation Now that he doesn’t believe the student drowned.
“I don’t believe that she drowned. I think something else happened,” said Ward, who has worked on various high-profile missing cases, including that of Natalie Holloway in 2005.
“It’s way too early. I don’t believe she drowned,” he said.
Ward worked on Holloway’s case for 18 years. Now, he said he contacted Konanki’s mother, offering to get involved as a private investigator.
“This case is going to stay active until they find some evidence to move forward,” Ward said. “I think something else happened.”
Dominican officials have interviewed more than 50 people in connection with the case but maintain that Riibe was never officially detained, only questioned as a witness.
His father, Albert, has voiced frustration over how long the process has taken. “Enough,” he reportedly told the judge. “It’s been 12 days.”
Judge Delgado ultimately granted Riibe permission to leave, stating, “The law is the law.”
As the search for Konanki continues, her family remains focused on finding answers—while also trying to process their devastating loss.
READ MORE
- Why parents of missing Sudiksha Konanki want her declared dead
- Last photo of missing Sudiksha Konanki shows her with a man
