20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student missing in Dominican Republic, search underway

Authorities in Dominican Republic are searching on land, by air and in the ocean for a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student from India, who disappeared last week during a spring break trip to Punta Cana.

Sudiksha Konanki was last seen on a surveillance camera with seven other people entering the beach at the Riu República Hotel in Punta Cana around 4:15 a.m. on Thursday, according to a statement from the Dominican National Police.

Konanki, a resident of Virginia’s Loudoun County, had arrived in the Dominican Republic on March 3 with five fellow students from school. Police learned about her disappearance on Friday through a call from the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo.

As the investigation abroad continues, Loudoun County Sherriff Mark Chapman told reporters Sunday, “we’re not ruling anything in [or out] just yet. It would be improper to speculate at this point,” he said.