Missing American student: Dominican lawyer puts drowning theory back in play; same beach claimed 4 in January
PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic — The section of beach where University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki vanished on spring break last week is the same place where four European tourists drowned in January.
It's known to be dangerous with rough surf and strong and unpredictable currents, said Luis Vilchez, a Dominican attorney who is not involved in the case.
"Every beach located in the Macao area, where this one is located, and in Uvero Alto, are beaches in Punta Cana where you have to be careful, because when those waves are strong, they drag you out to sea," he told Fox News Digital.
In January, multiple people drowned and others were rescued from the beach behind the same resort where Konanki was last seen, the Riu Republica in Punta Cana. The first three to be recovered were identified as European tourists, two from Poland and another from Portugal.
The remains of a third Polish national were found washed ashore the following day, according to Bavaro Digital, a local newspaper.
Vilchez noted there were red warning flags flying the morning of Konanki's disappearance, a sign that surf conditions were especially rough at the time. But she and her friends may have been unsuspecting victims after a night out drinking March 5 into the early morning hours the following day.
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Around 4:15 a.m., Konanki was part of a group of six women and two men seen on surveillance video approaching the beach. Six of them came back around 6 a.m., leaving Konanki alone on the beach with an Iowa 22-year-old named Joshua Riibe.
Riibe, a fellow spring breaker from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, is cooperating with authorities and has not been named a suspect, came back alone around 10 a.m. Konanki is the only person who is unaccounted for.
"Drunk people in the middle of the night won't take that into account," Vilchez said. "While the waves at that specific beach can be dangerous on normal occasions, they're even more so when the red flag is up."
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Konanki and her friends were seen at the hotel bar with drinks before heading down to the beach behind the resort, according to authorities.
"In the video, the two are seen walking sideways; they couldn't walk straight," he told Fox News Digital, referring to the last known surveillance video of Konanki showing her headed toward the beach with a group of friends. "If they had gotten into the water at that time, a wave could have easily done everything he says."
Riibe allegedly told authorities the two had been swept away by a strong wave and carried down the shoreline, according to a transcript of one of his interviews with police. After struggling to make it back to land, he said he threw up from swallowing salt water.
"I asked if she was OK. I didn’t hear her response because I started vomiting all the seawater I had swallowed," Riibe said. "After vomiting, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I thought she had grabbed her things and left. I felt really bad and exhausted. I lay down on a beach chair, fell asleep because I couldn’t go very far and later woke up because of the sun and mosquito bites. I went to my friend’s room to get my phone, then went to my own room to sleep."
Then he fell asleep on a beach chair and was seen returning to the hotel around 10 a.m.
Experts previously told Fox News Digital the beach is known for its strong currents and that they can be unpredictable, changing without warning.
"Punta Cana is located on the Mona Passage, which connects the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico," Andrew Wulfeck, a FOX Weather meteorologist and digital content producer, explained. He examined coastal records from around the time of Konanki’s disappearance.
"As is common where two waterways meet, the swell can be erratic and difficult to forecast, unlike the more predictable patterns often seen on beaches along the U.S. East Coast."
While some experts have taken issue with his story, Vilchez said he believes there would not have been time to commit foul play and hide the evidence.
"At 6 a.m. there are people coming down to sunbathe," he told Fox News Digital. "If he had killed her, he wouldn't have had time to get her anywhere without being seen."
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The resort and its neighboring competitors all have cameras, he said, including on the beaches on both sides of the Riu.
"A drunk guy wouldn't have had the mental capacity to drown her and throw her into the current — and be lucky that that body hasn't been found by now," he said.
Riibe is cooperating with authorities and has not been named a suspect. But in a statement Friday, his parents said they were concerned about "irregular conditions" he faced during the first six days of the investigation.
"Despite his full willingness to cooperate, Josh has been detained under irregular conditions and subjected to extensive questioning without the presence of official translators or legal counsel until Wednesday, March 12," his parents, Albert and Tina Riibe, said through their attorneys.
"He has remained in his hotel room under police surveillance and has been repeatedly taken to the police station since March 6, where he has been interrogated for long hours. This situation has raised serious concern within his family, which has led us to retain legal counsel to initiate legal actions ensuring his safety and the protection of his rights throughout this process."
The family said they were willing to continue cooperating with search efforts and wanted to share their "deep sorrow and solidarity" with Konanki's family.
"Above all, we wish to contribute to the search efforts and understand the anguish and uncertainty they are going through, and we share the hope that Sudiksha will be found as soon as possible," they said. "Joshua Riibe is deeply dismayed by her disappearance and has fully cooperated in the search and clarification of the facts from the very beginning."
Konanki's whereabouts remain unknown, and officials say they are working a missing persons case and not a criminal investigation, but they have left open all possibilities. On the other hand, experts also say that bodies tend to float back to shore within two or three days. She vanished March 6.
Dominican police are leading the investigation, with assistance from multiple U.S. agencies, including the FBI and Homeland Security. Investigators with the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office in Konanki's hometown sent two detectives to Punta Cana with permission from Dominican authorities. They interviewed Riibe Thursday, conducted some independent work on the ground and were headed back to the U.S. Friday.
"Mr. Riibe is not a suspect in any way shape or form," a sheriff's spokesman told Fox News Digital.