Missing Sudiksha Konanki’s parents ask authorities for death declaration

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More than two weeks after unsuccessful search for the missing Sudiksha Konanki, her parents have accepted the possibility of her drowning in a very rough ocean the morning she went missing. They have asked the DR authorities to declare her dead. Konanki is missing in the Dominican Republic (DR) where she was on spring break.

On March 20, 2025, CNN reported they had obtained a letter Konanki’s parents, Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki had written, asking the police to “proceed with the legal declaration of her death”.

“Konanki’s parents’ letter reads. “Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence,” CNN reported.

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On March 23, 2025, New York Post also reported on this new development and quoted Konanki’s father who was interviewed at the family home in Loudoun, VA:

“It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned,” and added, “This is incredibly difficult for us to process.”

According to the Post report, Konanki’s parents had based this decision on proof from authorities of high ocean waves at the time, and also the person of interest not being treated as a suspect from the beginning.

However, CNN has reported that in spite of this request, DR National Police investigations have continued.

Konanki was reported missing on March, 2025, after she had walked to the beach at the Resort Riu in Punta Cana with five of her travel companions. The six of them were seen on the hotel’s surveillance video walking out at 4:15 am with few people they met. That was the last the Konanki was seen.

According to reports, Konanki’s friends returned back to the hotel without Konanki and Joshua Riibe who was reported as “person of interest” or the last person to see Konanki.

In his statement to the DR Police, Riibe stated that he and Konkani had gone into the ocean where they were caught in a huge wave; he struggled to keep himself and Konanki both breathing; he then staggered back to the beach, and saw her last walking towards the beach, before getting sick from swallowing salt water, the reported statement said. Riibe said he assumed Konanki had left when he woke up on the beach. It was only later in the day that he learned that Konanki had never returned to her room, and her friends had reported her missing.

Konanki’s parents had said then they did not believe she had drowned and had urged the authorities to look at other possibilities.

Since then, the DR Police, the FBI, the local sheriff’s department from Loudoun, Virginia, the University of Pittsburgh Police, have been on the lookout for Konanki.

In their The March 20, 2025, BBC quotes officials saying that they have spent dozens of hours looking for the missing student, that police had  divided search areas and assigned drones to certain sectors, that pilots are monitoring footage that is being uploaded to a command center where AI is looking to identify objects in the ocean. BBC also reported search crews looking in water and on land.

Official reports have also said it was not clear whether foul play was involved in Konanki’s disappearance, as there was no blood or signs of violence found at the beach.

Konanki’s parents had traveled to the DR to participate in the search, and had returned back disappointed to their other two school going children.

Now, after more than two weeks when no trace of Konanki is found, and after looking at the weather reports of the night when the ocean was very stormy, they have given up hopes of finding Konanki.

Getting a death declaration for Konanki may not be possible soon, according to CNN reports of March 20, 2025.  In a case like Konanki’s, death declaration would have to happen via special law by the country’s Congress or the president, and this could take a long time, CNN reported. CNN also cited the US Embassy in the DR website which requires an original local death certificate in order to prepare a Consular Report of Death Abroad.

According to media reports, Konanki’s parents have asked for death declaration simply to have a closure. They have been quoted saying they have to get used to her absence and also have to attend to their other two children.

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