The last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki told investigators they shared a kiss after he saved her from drowning — but failed to answer other key questions.
Joshua Riibe, a 22-year-old senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, declined to answer several questions as he described his final moments with Konanki before she vanished in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic on March 6.
“I was a lifesaver. I grabbed her and pulled her out,” Riibe told the Public Ministry, according to translation of a transcript obtained by local news service Noticas Sin.
Riibe was staying at Hotel Riu Republica, the same five-star resort where Konanki and her five friends were visiting for spring break.
He is believed to be the last person to see Konanki, according to surveillance footage that captured the pair walking arm-in-arm along the beach after 4 a.m. on March 6.
Riibe told investigators they waded out into the water where they talked and kissed until the surf became too strong for them.
“A big wave came and hit us both and as the water returned, it came back and swept us out to sea,” he recounted.
Riibe claimed the pair called out for help when they resurfaced but no one else was on the beach.
The two were exhausted as they struggled to swim, but he said he fought to get the out of the rough waters.
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“It took me a long time to get her out, it was difficult. I was a lifeguard in the pool, not in the sea,” he told investigators, noting that he swallowed a lot of water during the rescue and “could have lost consciousness several times.”
Riibe said he eventually got them both back to a safe spot in the water closer to the beach.
He recalled hearing Konanki say she was going to get her belongings as the water had pushed them away from the area they had set up, explaining that she was still in knee-deep water and walking at an “angle.”
Riibe said: “The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK [but] I didn’t hear her answer because I started vomiting all the sea water I had swallowed.”
He continued: “After I threw up, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I thought she had grabbed her things and left.”
Feeling unwell, he fell asleep in a beach chair before being awoken by mosquitoes and the sunrise.
Riibe said he returned to his hotel room, briefly talked to his friend, then fell back to sleep.
However, the outlet reported that Riibe refused to answer at least eight crucial questions including what he told his friend, if Konanki knew how to swim, if she made any cries for help, if he told authorities what happened on the beach, and how he feels about the situation.
Riibe gave the same response to each query: “My lawyers advise me not to answer that question and I follow their advice.”
Officials initially believed her disappearance was a drowning, but announced Wednesday that they hadn’t ruled out foul play.
What Riibe told investigators appears to line up with an investigative police report that stated the Virginia resident was hit by a large wave while swimming at night, ABC reported.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the law enforcement agency in Konanki’s hometown, named Riibe as a person of interest but cautioned that he was not considered a suspect.