Investigation suggests Pittsburgh student missing in the Dominican Republic was swept out to sea

Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student from India, went missing last Thursday while vacationing in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, with five classmates. Investigators believe she may have drowned.

The young woman was a student in Pittsburgh and lived with her classmates in Loudoun County, Virginia. They traveled to the Dominican Republic for vacation, staying at a hotel in the popular tourist city of Punta Cana.

According to current information, Sudiksha Konanki was on the beach near the hotel with her classmates on Wednesday. Most of the group returned to the hotel, but Sudiksha and one other companion stayed behind on the beach.

A surveillance camera last recorded Sudiksha Konanki on Thursday, March 6. According to Dominican investigators, she went for a swim in the sea, and a wave may have pulled her under, leading to her drowning. Her body has not yet been found, which could support this hypothesis.

Authorities stated that the missing student's friends who were with her at the time of her disappearance have been questioned by police, and there are no suspicions of their involvement.