Newly emerged footage reportedly shows missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki possibly appearing to vomit at an outdoor bar in Punta Cana before she disappeared earlier this month.
Konanki, 20, can be seen in a pair of videos obtained by local outlet Noticia SIN — including one in which she and friends are hanging at a resort bar near a struggling man who appears to be the “person of interest” in the case, Joshua Riibe.
The co-ed, who was on spring break in the Dominican Republic, vanished in the early hours of March 6, sparking a desperate search and swirling questions about what happened to her.
In one of the clips, the pre-med student and her three friends are at the bar before one of the girls, whom the local outlet identified as Konanki, puts her hand to her mouth and quickly excuses herself to hunch over a patch of grass a few feet away as if she were vomiting onto the ground.
The same woman then walks back to the bar and excitedly jumps up and down before hugging one of her girlfriends, the video shows.
Meanwhile, a young man believed to be Riibe can be seen separately bent over and struggling outside the bar as another young man comforts him. The man — who stumbles backward at one point — appears to be wearing the same clothing Riibe wore in previously released surveillance footage of him and Konanki walking arm-in-arm less than two hours before she vanished.
The footage also shows a man, identified by Noticias SIN as Riibe, throwing up onto the ground.
The pair do not interact in the footage from the bar and seem to be in separate groups.
Sudiksha Konanki seen on security footage dressed in white and carrying a black purse. Noticias SINA second video shows a group of four girls, including Konanki, palling around the lobby of the RIU Hotel & Resort in the hours leading up to her disappearance.
While local authorities initially said they believed the Indian national drowned in the ocean during rough surf in the early morning after taking a dip with Riibe, they have not ruled out foul play.
Riibe, a 22-year-old senior at St. Cloud University, is under police monitoring and has faced grilling by investigators after providing conflicting accounts of what happened the night Konanki seemingly vanished.
His passport has also been pulled so he can’t leave the country until authorities allow him to.
Follow the latest on the search for missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki:
- Joshua Riibe detained in Puerto Rico as his frustrated dad tells reporters to leave them alone after Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance
- Josh Riibe is ‘free to leave’ the DR after being held in Sudiksha Konanki disappearance, judge rules
- Sudiksha Konanki’s parents reveal they now think she drowned and that Josh Riibe wasn’t responsible
- Parents of missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki ask DR officials to declare daughter dead
- Joshua Riibe officially cleared in Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance in the DR
While considered a person of interest, the Iowa native has not been accused of wrongdoing or charged with a crime in the Virginia student’s disappearance.
He claimed he pulled Konanki out of the ocean and then passed out after vomiting due to inadvertently swallowing seawater.
When he woke up again, he went back to his hotel room and assumed she had also left the beach.
Konanki, 20, can be seen in a pair of videos obtained by local outlet Noticia SIN – including one in which she and friends are hanging at a resort bar near a struggling man who appears to be person of interest Joshua Riibe. Noticias SINRiibe’s parents pleaded for transparency from cops last week, claiming their son has been detained under irregular conditions.
Over the weekend friends of Riibe from his tiny Iowa hometown publicly expressed their support for the 24-year-old person of interest.
“The Rock Rapids community stands behind and supports Joshua Riibe and his family,” read a statement released late Sunday by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office on behalf of “friends of the Riibe family” in Iowa.
The co-ed, who was on spring break in the Dominican Republic, vanished in the early hours of March 6, sparking a desperate search and swirling questions about what happened to her.
“The Riibe family moved to town in 2015 and has been active in various school and community events and organizations. They are well-known and loved.”
“Josh has an unwavering devotion to his faith and a genuine kindness toward others,” the statement continued.
“He exemplifies the values of compassion, respect and integrity that are fundamental to our church and our community.”
The pair do not interact in the footage from the bar and seem to be in separate groups. Noticias SINRiibe has remained in Punta Cana since Konanki’s March 6 disappearance and told NBC News he was “trying to help” authorities in their search for the missing student.
Additional reporting by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon






