Missing Student's Family Believes She Drowned

The family of a missing University of Pittsburgh student has asked authorities in the Dominican Republic to declare her dead, police say. Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was last seen on March 6 after she went to a beach near her hotel with friends during a spring break trip. Her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, urged authorities to consider possibilities including kidnapping after an initial search failed to find her body, but the family now believes she drowned, USA Today reports.

• The sheriff of Loudoun County, Virginia, where the family lives, said in a statement that the family "has expressed their belief that she drowned," Sheriff Michael Chapman said, "While a final decision to make such a declaration rests with authorities in the Dominican Republic, we will support the Konanki family in every way possible as we continue to review the evidence and information made available to us in the course of this investigation."

• In their letter to police asking for a declaration of death, the family said, "Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence," per the AP. "While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory." They said investigators believe she drowned and "no evidence of foul play has been found," CNN reports.
• St. Cloud State University Joshua Riibe, the last person to see Konanki alive, said he thought he had saved her from a giant wave that hit when they were in waist-deep water. Authorities confiscated the 22-year-old's passport during the investigation.
• At a court hearing Tuesday, authorities said Riibe would no longer be under constant police surveillance, but they did not return his passport, ABC News reports. "Her mother gave me a hug and said, 'Thank you for saving my daughter the first time,"' Riibe said in court. "It was really tough."

(More Sudiksha Konanki stories.)