Prior to the disappearance of an American student In the Dominican Republic, She and the last people with whom she was seen on March 6 had drunk before they decided to swim in rough surf, which was liable for liability with which the resort they could be confronted with.
In the early morning hours of March 6, Sudiksha Konanki and her friends walked from a hotel bar to the beach outside the Riu Republica in Punta Cana, where she from five female friends from the University of Pittsburgh.
The 20-year-old apparently went for a swimming with a 22-year-old man named Joshua Riibe, from Iowa, who has been identified as a witness in her disappearance. Riibe apparently told the authorities of the Dominican Republic that they were going to swim and were struck by a large wave, which is the last time he saw her.
“I was a long time ago in Natalee Holloway’s study. And although there are some similarities here, there are some differences,” Chris Swecker, former FBI Criminal Investigative Division Assistant Director, told FOX News Digital. “But in this case I think it is plausible, based on everything I have read, that it is a drowning … I don’t think it is a bizarre assumption here, based on the facts that they were both pretty drunk.”
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, has been missing since 6 March in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Handout/ Santiago Baez for Fox News Digital)
Riibe told the police that he had drunk vodka with 7UP and Tequila recordings, adding that the group of women with whom he had been bought with “pink tequila -schoten” that they drank as a group.
He went on the beach and Konanki in the water while two of her female friends stayed ashore. Riibe and Konanki were talking when a “big wave” hit them, said Riibe. At the time there was a red flag warning on the beach, which indicates a warning for people not to swim in rough surf.
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In January, four tourists drowned near Punta Cana, when a red flag warned of strong currents and rough seas, according to the Associated Press.
Local authorities are looking for the missing of the American student Sudiksha Konanki in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Tuesday 11 March 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News Digital)
“When it comes to the ocean … If you do not recover a body fairly quickly, then marine life will take care of it,” said Swecker. “And we haven’t seen no body in the meantime.”
Swecker, who is also a lawyer, added that he “could certainly see a liability problem for the resort” in connection with the disappearance of Konanki.
Missing American in Dominican Republic: no suspects as a search for Sudiksha Konanki reaches a week
“Depending on the industrial standards for such a resort, where there are plenty of cameras, or … people outside the hotel because of a power outage. Must there have been safety on the beach?” he asked.
Sudiksha Konanki on a Facebook selfie photo. The 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh Junior has been missing since 6 March. (Sudiksha Konanki/Facebook)
Only two hours prior to the disappearance of Konanki, RIU Republica had dissolved an almost 25 hours of electricity failure that influenced about 30% of the resort, so that some people were loaded into their rooms without light, water, WiFi or electricity to charge phones or other electronics.
“In response to publications that link the electrical failure in the RIU Republica Hotel to the tragic disappearance of guest Sudiksha Chowdary Konanki, RIU Hotels & Resorts wants to clarify that both events are not related to no connection,” Riu Resorts & Hotels said earlier FOX News Digital in a statement.
The parent company of the hotel added that the efforts of the RIU Republica staff “were exemplary in terms of dedication, dedication and professionalism in solving serious technical failures within a few hours and reducing the effects it had on services at that time.”
Researchers have expanded the search area if the American student Sudiksha Konanki is missing. (Graphics from Fox News)
Luis Vilchez, a lawyer in the Dominican Republic, does not think that the resort will be held liable unless the guests prove that “the hotel or his employees have acted recklessly.”
“If the guest acted recklessly, the hotel would not be held liable in principle.”
“As with regard to beach swimming conditions, it should be shown that the hotel would not offer sufficient signage to inform guests about the correct use of the beach,” Vilchez told Fox News Digital.
“If the guest acted recklessly, the hotel would not in principle be held liable – for example, if the guest swam to be designated outside when not a lifeguard and despite visible vocational signs, such as red flags that indicate bad weather.”
Military staff looking for Sudiksha Konanki in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on March 10. (AP/Francesco Spotorno)
He continued: “In this specific case I see no reasons for a claim against the resort when two adults have not followed the safety measures that the hotel set to prevent accidents. That is, it would be necessary to prove that the hotel was negligent in indicating, communicating or maintaining the security measures.”
Swecker said it would be possible for Konanki’s family to sue the resort for negligence if there was “insufficient security”, “insufficient lighting on the beach” or because they do not close or secure the beach during a warning for a red flag.
Fox News Digital reached for Riu Republica for comment.
Konanki was last seen on surveillance images from Riu Republica to the beach with seven other people, including five women and two men, around 4.15 am on March 6. She was last seen on the beach around 4:50 am, according to the Dominican Republic of Attorneur’s Office and the hotel.
Local authorities participate in the search for missing student Sudiksha Konanki, March 11, 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News Digital)
Hotel monitoring images then show a group of six people, including five women and one man, who returns to the hotel from the beach around 5:55 am
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The young man who was previously seen with Konanki can be seen on surveillance images that enter the interior of the hotel around 9 am on March 6.
Authorities ask everyone with information to contact the Sheriff’s Office of Loudoun County on 703-777-1021. To stay anonymous, call Loudoun Crime Solvers on 703-777-1919.
Michael Ruiz and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.
