The last person believed to have been seen with missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki is on his way back to the United States.
NBC News reports that Joshua Riibe, 22, is on a plane that took off from a Santo Domingo airport, which is the Dominican Republic’s capital city on Wednesday afternoon. His attorneys say his father is with him.
His departure from the country comes a day after a judge ruled that he could move freely. Up until Tuesday, Riibe was reportedly confined to a hotel room and not allowed to leave without supervision since Konanki vanished before dawn on March 6 in Punta Cana. During that time he was repeatedly questioned by police about her disappearance.
He also claimed authorities confiscated his passport — an issue the judge couldn’t rule on. Santo Domingo is the location of the U.S. Embassy and where Riibe would have had to go to get an emergency passport, per NBC.
According to the transcript of an interview with prosecutors, reported by Dominican media as well as NBC and Telemundo, Riibe told police he was drinking with Konanki on the beach and they were kissing in waist-deep water when they were pulled out to sea by a strong tide. Riibe said he was a former lifeguard and swam her into shore.
He told investigators he vomited upon reaching the beach and that Konanki said she was going to fetch her things. When he looked up, she was gone. He said he was later surprised to hear of her disappearance.
On Tuesday, Konanki’s family asked police in the Dominican Republic to declare her dead, after authorities told them they believe she drowned. Her body has not been found.
Riibe has not been charged with a crime nor been named a suspect in the investigation. His attorneys say he’s fully cooperated with police.
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