Eleven days after the disappearance of 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki, of South Riding, Virginia, the physical search for her continues to widen, and the person believed to be the last to see her will be questioned Monday by a prosecutor in the Dominican Republic.
Konanki, a premed student at the University of Pittsburgh, was last seen on surveillance video walking with a group of friends to the beach at 4:50 a.m. on March 6, after a party at the Riu Republica hotel, where she and five of her friends from college were staying.
With no sign of the missing student, the search perimeter continues to widen. On Monday, investigators began using jet skis in their search — on top of the drones and helicopters they were already using to attempt to gauge tides and currents — suggesting the search will intensify along beaches, reported Listin Diario, a Dominican news agency.
A person of interest identified by Loudoun County’s Sheriff’s Office will be questioned by the interim prosecutor of the La Altagracia province of the Dominican Republic on Monday, according to local news organization Noticias SIN. He was questioned for more than six hours Saturday by the attorney general of the republic, according to local news reports.
Last Wednesday, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office named the young man who was last seen with Konanki — pictured on hotel surveillance video — as a person of interest in the college student’s disappearance, which is still considered a missing persons case.
Loudoun County detectives traveled to the Dominican Republic to question the young man last Thursday, and have since returned to the U.S., according to the sheriff’s office.
WTOP is not naming the person of interest, since he has not identified as a suspect in the case. There have been no arrests in connection with Konanki’s disappearance.
Family, community express support for person of interest
Sunday, the hometown sheriff of the person of interest posted on Facebook a statement of support from the friends of the young man’s family, while asking for privacy. The sheriff’s agency said it agreed to relay the post, so “they could, due to the international media coverage, remain anonymous.”
In the statement, the friends said the person’s family moved to the community in 2015 and is “well known and loved.”
According to the friends, the person of interest “has an unwavering devotion to his faith and a genuine kindness toward others. He exemplifies the values of compassion, respect, and integrity that are fundamental to our church and our community.”
The community support comes two days after the parents of the young man released a statement through their attorney.
“We express our deep sorrow and solidarity with the family of Sudiksha Konanki during this painful time,” wrote the parents. “Above all, we wish to contribute to the search efforts and understand the anguish and uncertainty they are going through and we share the hope that Sudiksha will be found as soon as possible.”
The parents say their son “is deeply dismayed by her disappearance and has fully cooperated in the search and clarification of the facts from the very beginning.”
Hours before and after Sudiksha Konanki was last seen
On Thursday, Dominican news organization Noticias SIN reported details of the person of interest’s account given to local prosecutors this week about his interactions with Konanki before and after she disappeared.
Noticias SIN quoted select details of the man’s story, citing a lengthy transcript of an undated interview including the person of interest, his attorney and prosecutors.
The man said he first met Konanki that evening, during a party at the Riu Republica resort, where he, Konanki, and her five female friends were staying during a spring break vacation that began March 3, according to her father, in a WTOP interview.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said it questioned the young man the day after the Noticias Sin report, but has not provided any details of whether his answers were consistent with those cited in the local report. Loudoun County sheriff’s spokesperson Thomas Julia said Friday, “We cannot speak to its authenticity nor how or why it was released or leaked.”
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