An Iowa man who was previously named a person of interest in the disappearance of missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki has returned to the United States after nearly two weeks of detention in the Dominican Republic.
Joshua Riibe, 22, was able to leave after securing a new passport from the US Consulate on the Caribbean island. He was accompanied by his father on the journey home, as per his lawyers, quoted by the New York Post.
“The prosecutor’s office of La Altagracia informed [Riibe] of their readiness to return his passport,” said the Dominican law firm Guzman Ariza in an email to The Post. “While Joshua appreciated this decision, he chose, for privacy reasons, to apply for a new passport at the US Consulate, which was promptly issued. We are pleased to announce that Joshua and his father are currently traveling back to their home in the United States.”
Konanki still missing
Riibe, a student at St Cloud State College, had been detained in the Dominican Republic since March 6, when Sudiksha Konanki vanished after the two went for an early morning swim in rough waters at the RIU Hotel & Resort in Punta Cana.
Riibe told authorities that he had managed to pull Konanki to safety but lost consciousness on the beach, after which she was never seen again.
Though officials identified Riibe as a person of interest, he was never formally named as a suspect in the case. However, his passport and phone were confiscated, preventing him from leaving the island.
Legal battle over Riibe’s detention
During a court hearing on Tuesday, tensions escalated as prosecutors pushed back against claims that Riibe was being unlawfully detained.
Judge Edwin Delgado ruled in Riibe’s favour, granting his request to end police surveillance and allowing him to leave the resort, but he was still unable to leave the country.
Finally on Wednesday, Riibe boarded a flight home to Rock Rapids, Iowa, bringing an end to his legal ordeal.
Sudiksha Konanki missing case
Sudiksha Konanki, a 20 year old Indian-origin pre-med student from Chantilly, Virginia, went missing while on spring break with five friends at the Riu Republic Resort in Punta Cana on March 6.
Konanki’s father initially suspected foul play and egged on the administration to widen their search when the mysterious disappearance of the Pitt University student was seen as a case of drowning.
Konanki and a group of friends were at the beach before most of them decided to return to their hotel, leaving her behind with a male companion, according to Dominican media reports.
After a massive search on land, water, and air turned yield no results even after 12 days, Sudiksha’s parents, Subbarayudu and Sridevi, finally gave up hope of their daughter returning alive. They wrote a letter to the Dominican Republic authorities, asking them to declare their daughter ‘dead’.