Authorities have ramped up aerial, maritime, and ground search efforts to locate 20-year-old Pittsburgh University student Siddiksha Konanki, who went missing six days ago while vacationing in the Dominican Republic resort town of Punta Cana.
Konanki, 20, disappeared from the beach at the Rio Republica Hotel on the morning of March 6, triggering a widespread search involving officials from the Dominican Republic, the United States, and India, where Konanki’s family resides.
Nearly a week after her disappearance, a few solid leads have emerged about what might have happened to her.
The Dominican Republic’s National Police announced on Monday that they had formed a “high-level commission” to collaborate on the investigation, including the General Prosecutor’s Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Embassy.
In a press conference on Monday, Dominican President Luis Abinader said that authorities are investigating Konanki’s disappearance as an “accident” and conducting a “special search operation in the sea.”
“We are concerned. All government agencies are looking,” Abinader said, emphasizing that the Dominican Republic prides itself on being one of the safest countries, not just in Latin America but in the world, welcoming over 11 million tourists annually.
The Hours Leading Up to Her Disappearance
Konanki arrived in the Dominican Republic on March 3 with five other students from Pittsburgh University, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia, where her family lives.
At approximately 4:15 a.m. on March 6, surveillance cameras recorded a group of people, including Konanki, five other women, and two men, entering the beach. Before heading to the beach, the group had spent about an hour drinking in the hotel lobby, according to a source from the Dominican National Police.
Later, surveillance footage captured five women and one man leaving the beach around 4:55 a.m., but Konanki was not among them, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.
Authorities learned that Konanki stayed behind with a 20-year-old man, who was later questioned by police. Surveillance footage showed the man leaving the beach sometime before 9:00 a.m. local time on Thursday.
While authorities are questioning the man, he is not considered a suspect at this stage, according to a law enforcement source. He was placed under police surveillance at the hotel but has not been formally detained. The man told officials that they both went into the ocean, but he began to feel ill, left the water, and fell asleep on a lounge chair.
After Konanki failed to return to her room, her friends began searching for her. The group reported her missing to hotel staff around 4:00 a.m. on Thursday, according to a law enforcement source. Konanki’s sarong-style cover-up was later found on the lounge chair on the beach, but there were no signs of foul play.
The hotel reported that Konanki’s disappearance coincided with a power outage, which led many guests to head toward the beach.
An Intensified Search Effort
In the days that followed, a massive search involving dogs, drones, and helicopters has yielded no substantial clues about Konanki’s whereabouts.
Konanki’s father, Sabarayadu Konanki, described his daughter as a “very good girl” who aspired to pursue a career in medicine. He explained that she had traveled to Punta Cana for spring break before starting her pre-med studies.
Originally from India, the Konanki family has been living in the U.S. since 2006 and is now based in Loudoun County, Virginia. The family’s hometown is praying for her safe return.
Family friend Shaker Pendem, who has known Konanki since she was 3 years old, told CNN affiliate WUSA that “everyone is very worried” as it has been four days since her disappearance.
On Monday, Dominican police said they were re-interviewing people who were with Konanki and staff from the hotel where she stayed.
By Tuesday morning, more than 300 officers, experts, tactical units, and water search teams were involved in the search in the area around the hotel, according to a post on the Dominican Republic’s National Police social media page.
Police assured that all necessary resources, including forensic experts and surveillance footage analysis teams, had been mobilized to locate Konanki.
Sabarayadu Konanki and his wife, Shridevi, along with two family friends, arrived in Punta Cana on Monday. They have asked authorities to broaden the investigation, and they reported that Konanki’s belongings, including her phone and purse, were left with her friends, which they found unusual, as she always carried her phone with her.
Konanki’s father has also requested that authorities explore other possibilities, including the potential for abduction or human trafficking.
According to Civil Defense spokesperson Jenson Sanchez, the search is “continuing in the sea as it is speculated that she may have drowned.” He noted that in warm waters, it can take over a week for a body to surface.
