Student at Pa. university goes missing while vacationing in Dominican Republic

Authorities are searching for a 20-year-old college student that went missing while on vacation in the Dominican Republic.

Sudiksha Konanki, a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, was last seen on March 6 walking on a beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana, according to the Dominican Civil Defense and a missing poster that has been shared on social media.

Konanki is a resident of Virginia’s Loudoun County and also a citizen of India. She was traveling with five other female Pittsburgh students, according to People.

Police believe that she disappeared at around 4:15 a.m. after after she and her friends were captured on video surveillance entering the beach area of their hotel. They were accompanied by two American men. Her friends returned to the hotel later but she stayed to talk to one of the men.

NBC News reported that authorities are interviewing that young man and are trying to corroborate his story.

It is not clear if her disappearance is the result of an accident or if foul play is involved.

Konaki’s parents have traveled to the Dominican Republic to aid in the search, WTAE said.

The sheriff’s office in Loudoun County, Va., said the Embassy of India in the Dominican Republic is working with the U.S. State Department and other law enforcement.

Anyone with information on Konanki’s whereabouts is asked to call the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021.

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