Joshua Riibe’s passport confiscated in case of missing student

Punta Cana — Riibe, linked to the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki in Punta Cana, remains under investigation.

Dominican authorities confiscated the passport of Joshua Riibe, a 22-year-old American linked to the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh student who was last seen on March 6 in Punta Cana. Riibe, considered a “person of interest” by U.S. authorities, has been confined to a resort under police surveillance while the investigation continues.

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, traveled to the Dominican Republic with five friends to enjoy spring break. According to witnesses, the young woman was last seen around 4:15 a.m. on March 6, after heading to the beach. Riibe, who claims to have been with Konanki that night, told investigators they were both swept away by a wave while in the water.

“We were waist-deep in water, talking and kissing a little bit,” Riibe said in an interview with local authorities, according to a transcript obtained by NBC News. “A wave hit us and swept us out to sea. I tried to help her breathe, but I was swallowing water too.” Riibe, who worked as a lifeguard in the past, said she managed to get Konanki to shore, but then lost contact with her.

“The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was okay. I didn’t hear her answer,” he said. “I looked around and saw no one. I thought she had taken her things and left.” However, hours later, it was learned that Konanki had disappeared, triggering an intensive search in the area.

Dominican authorities have avoided calling Riibe a suspect, though they are keeping him under strict surveillance. “We do not use the term ‘person of interest’ in this case,” a national police spokesman said.

“For now, no one is considered a suspect.” Meanwhile, the Sheriff’s Office of Loudoun County, Virginia, where Konanki is from, has sent detectives to Punta Cana to assist in the investigation.

Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, has denied any involvement in Konanki’s disappearance. “I’m just trying to help them,” he told NBC News from the resort where he’s staying. “The ocean is a dangerous place.”

The case has raised concerns in the United States and the Dominican Republic, where authorities insist it is a missing person investigation and not a criminal case. Meanwhile, Konanki’s family is waiting for answers about the young woman’s whereabouts, whose fate remains a mystery.

Jesse Kirsch, NBC News’s Miami correspondent, has been reporting on the case since the beginning. According to Kirsch, collaboration between U.S. and Dominican authorities will be key to clarifying what happened.

As the investigation progresses, the world awaits answers about the fate of Sudiksha Konanki and the role Joshua Riibe may have played in her disappearance.