Interpol posts alert for Pitt student missing in Dominican Republic
Interpol has issued a yellow alert for University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, who went missing a week ago from a beach in the Dominican Republic.
The alert was posted by the International Criminal Police Organization, known as Interpol.
Konanki, 20, was visiting Punta Cana on spring break last week when she was reported missing.
“The Interpol yellow notice was done quickly to help in the event Ms. Konanki sought to leave or was taken from the (Dominican Republic) to another nation,” said Thomas Julia, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office in Loudon County, Va., where Konanki lives.
The Dominican National police are the lead investigating agency, with the FBI assisting on the ground in Punta Cana.
The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office also has two detectives there supporting the FBI, Julia said.
Konanki was last seen at the Hotel Riu Republica.
Video surveillance cameras captured her, five other women and two men heading to a nearby beach about 4:15 a.m. March 6, CNN reported.
When the others returned just before 5 a.m., Konanki and one of the men were not in the group, CNN said, citing two sources close to the investigation.
On Wednesday, Joshua Riibe, a U.S. citizen also vacationing there, was identified as a person of interest.
Riibe “may have been the last one to have seen her, so (he) is of particular interest,” Chad Quinn, a spokesman for the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office, previously told TribLive.
Quinn said the investigation into Konanki’s disappearance is not considered a criminal investigation and Riibe is not deemed a suspect.
“A number of people have been interviewed by the Dominican National Police with the assistance of the FBI, and this is continuing,” Quinn told TribLive on Wednesday.
Konanki’s father told a radio station he had asked officials to investigate a range of possibilities for his daughter’s disappearance, including that she could have been kidnapped.
The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office has said there was a red flag warning indicating rough waters in the area at the time of Konanki’s disappearance.
The Interpol notice was issued by the United States.
The organization uses a color-coded system to send worldwide alerts through its 196 member countries to share information.
Its website says the notices are primarily for police use.
A yellow alert, as issued for Konanki, is for missing persons.
Konanki’s notice lists her name, gender, date of birth, place and date of disappearance, distinguishing marks and characteristics, and a description.
According to Interpol’s website, there are more than 10,000 yellow notices in circulation.
Paula Reed Ward is a TribLive reporter covering federal and Allegheny County courts. She joined the Trib in 2020 after spending nearly 17 years at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, where she was part of a Pulitzer Prize-winning team. She is the author of "Death by Cyanide." She can be reached at pward@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.