Iowan named as person of interest in case of missing Pittsburgh student, Sudiksha Konanki
Updated: 10:08 PM CDT Mar 12, 2025
EIGHT NEWS AT TEN STARTS NOW. IT HAS BEEN SIX DAYS SINCE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH STUDENT SUDIKSHA HONANKI HAS WAS LAST SEEN OR HEARD FROM. TODAY, AUTHORITIES IN VIRGINIA HAVE IDENTIFIED AN IOWAN AS A PERSON OF INTEREST. KCCI IS PEPPER. PURPURA IS LOOKING INTO THIS CASE FOR US TONIGHT. PEPPER. WHAT DO WE KNOW SO FAR? WELL, BEN AND STACEY, 24 YEAR OLD JOSHUA RIGBY WAS NAMED AS A PERSON OF INTEREST TODAY. RIGBY IS FROM ROCK RAPIDS, IOWA. HE IS FROM LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA. THE OFFICE THERE, SAYS RIGBY IS NOT A SUSPECT, BUT THE DEPARTMENT BELIEVES HE MAY BE THE LAST PERSON TO SPEAK WITH A MISSING 20 YEAR OLD. THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH STUDENT WAS ON VACATION IN THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DURING THE SCHOOL SPRING BREAK. SHE WAS LAST SEEN ON VIDEO SURVEILLANCE OF THE BEACH AT RIO REPUBLICA RESORT IN PUNTA CANA JUST BEFORE FIVE IN THE MORNING ON MARCH 6TH. A DOMINICAN POLICE SOURCE TELLS CBS NEWS SHE WAS WITH FIVE OTHER UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH STUDENTS WHO ACCOMPANIED HER ON THE TRIP, AS WELL AS TWO OTHER AMERICAN MEN WHO REPORTEDLY STAYED BEHIND ON THE BEACH WITH ONE OF THE MEN. WHILE THE REST OF THE GROUP WENT BACK TO THE HOTEL. THE MAN WHO STAYED BEHIND HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED OFFICIALLY BY LAW ENFORCEMENT. HE TOLD OFFICIALS THAT HE AND KANAKI THEN WENT SWIMMING WHEN THEY WERE CAUGHT BY A LARGE WAVE. THE MAN SAYS HE RETURNED TO SHORE BEFORE PASSING OUT AND LATER WENT BACK TO HIS HOTEL. HE SAYS HE IS UNSURE OF WHAT HAPPENED TO KANAKI. OFFICIALS HAVE SAID THAT SHE MAY HAVE DIED BY DROWNING, BUT THE MULTIPLE AGENCIES, INCLUDING THE FBI, ARE CONTINUING TO INVESTIGATE. THE LOUDOUN COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE SAYS RIGBY IS NOT PART OF THE GROUP THAT WAS TRAVELING WITH THE LYON COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE HERE IN IOWA, RESPONDED TO RIGBY’S INVOLVEMENT BY SAYING IT HAS NO FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE CASE AND ARE NOT AWARE OF HIS LOCATION. THE DEPARTMENT IS DIRECTING FURTHER INQUIRIES TO THE AGENCY INVESTIGATING THIS CASE, AND ASKED THE PUBLIC TO RESPEC
Iowan named as person of interest in case of missing Pittsburgh student, Sudiksha Konanki
Updated: 10:08 PM CDT Mar 12, 2025
Reporter/Multimedia Journalist
Authorities in Virginia have identified an Iowan as a person of interest in the missing person case of University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki.Wednesday, the Loudoun County sheriff said 24-year-old Joshua Riibe of Rock Rapids, is not a suspect but is believed to be the last person to speak with the missing 20-year-old student.Investigators said Konanki was on vacation in the Dominican Republic during the school’s spring break. She was last seen on video surveillance of the beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana just before 5 a.m. on March 6th.A Dominican police source tells CBS News she was with five other University of Pittsburgh students who accompanied her on the trip, as well as two other American men. Konanki reportedly stayed behind on the beach with one of the men while the rest of the group went back to the hotel. The man who stayed behind has not been officially identified by law enforcement. That man told officials he and Konanki then went swimming when they were caught by a large wave. He said he returned to shore before passing out and later returned to his hotel. He said he is unsure of what happened to Konanki.Officials have said she may have died by drowning, but multiple agencies, including the Dominican Republic National Police, the nation’s Attorney General’s Office, the FBI and the International Liaison of the U.S. Embassy, are continuing to investigate.When asked about Riibe’s involvement, the Lyon County Sheriff’s office gave the following statement to KCCI: “The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office has no further information to provide in this case. We are not the investigating law enforcement agency, and we are not aware of Mr. Riibe’s location. We would defer all further inquiries to the investigating agency, and we ask that everyone respect the privacy of Mr. Riibe’s family.”
Authorities in Virginia have identified an Iowan as a person of interest in the missing person case of University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki.
Wednesday, the Loudoun County sheriff said 24-year-old Joshua Riibe of Rock Rapids, is not a suspect but is believed to be the last person to speak with the missing 20-year-old student.
Investigators said Konanki was on vacation in the Dominican Republic during the school’s spring break. She was last seen on video surveillance of the beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana just before 5 a.m. on March 6th.
A Dominican police source tells CBS News she was with five other University of Pittsburgh students who accompanied her on the trip, as well as two other American men. Konanki reportedly stayed behind on the beach with one of the men while the rest of the group went back to the hotel. The man who stayed behind has not been officially identified by law enforcement.
That man told officials he and Konanki then went swimming when they were caught by a large wave. He said he returned to shore before passing out and later returned to his hotel. He said he is unsure of what happened to Konanki.
Officials have said she may have died by drowning, but multiple agencies, including the Dominican Republic National Police, the nation’s Attorney General’s Office, the FBI and the International Liaison of the U.S. Embassy, are continuing to investigate.
When asked about Riibe’s involvement, the Lyon County Sheriff’s office gave the following statement to KCCI:
“The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office has no further information to provide in this case. We are not the investigating law enforcement agency, and we are not aware of Mr. Riibe’s location. We would defer all further inquiries to the investigating agency, and we ask that everyone respect the privacy of Mr. Riibe’s family.”
