BEACH RIDDLE 

Chilling CCTV, kiss with pal & bar sighting… Mystery of student who vanished on Spring Break as cop reveals kidnap clues

A FRESH kidnap clue in the case of a missing student from an island paradise has deepened the mystery 12 months after she disappeared.

A private investigator who worked on the case says Sudiksha Konanki, 20, did not drown like originally thought, but instead wandered off with a mystery couple and vanished.

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Sudiksha was a student at the University of PittsburgCredit: Unknown
 

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She was last seen in the early hours of March 6 last year walking along a beach in the Dominican Republic
 

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Members of the civil defence canine unit searches for SudikshaCredit: AP
The University of Pittsburgh student was on holiday with friends in the Dominican Republic when she disappeared without a trace.

It was believed fellow spring breaker Josh Riibe, 22, was the last person to see her alive after he kissed her in the ocean during the early hours of March 6 last year.

But veteran private detective TJ Ward has spoken to new witnesses who claim they saw Sudiksha wander off with a couple after emerging from the water with Riibe.

Speaking to The Sun, Mr Ward insisted the biology and chemistry student did not drown like authorities and her family believe.

Through his own investigation on the isle, he obtained statements from two security guards who saw Sudiksha walk away with a woman and man – the latter who was a known drug dealer.

The couple were staying at the same hotel as Sudiksha, the retired police officer said.

The guards told Ward they saw the woman walk up to Sudiksha and begin speaking to her before the trio disappeared together.

“Everybody thinks she drowned,” Ward told The Sun.

“But [the security guards] saw her on the beach and the female started walking up and talking to her, and she ended up walking off with them. She has not been seen since.”

The remains of two other people who drowned the month earlier washed up less than 48 hours later, Ward explained.

He said: “If she had drowned, she’d have washed back up.

“So if she drowned, there would be evidence that she drowned.

“We know she didn’t, we have witnesses who saw her wander off with this drug dealer and his girlfriend.”

Ward, who worked on other high-profile cases including the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, 18, claims he made efforts to provide this information to the police and Sudiksha’s family, but never received a response.

“The case was shut down by the Dominican Republic police and the detective was instructed to shut the case down and not to work on it anymore,” he said.

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She was on a trip with five other friends to celebrate spring break
 

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TJ Ward has been a private investigator for 43 years and believes Sudiksha was kidnappedCredit: Supplied
Ward fears Sudiksha was kidnapped as part of a cover-up by authorities.

“That case was covered up. The government is not even working on the case anymore,” he said.

“We met with the FBI and then with the lead investigator with the Dominican Republic, and they were instructed by the Dominican Republic to shut the case down.”

Questions have also lingered as to why the case was closed after less than two weeks of searching, particularly as Sudiksha’s body was never found.

It’s understood Sudiksha’s parents requested a death certificate to bring the search to an end.

Ward claimed Sudiksha’s dad Subbarayudu was seeking to widen the investigation during the search to consider kidnapping as a possibility.

But according to reports, he then asked police that she be declared dead.

Ward also fears the family may have been silenced.

Sudiksha had been partying with friends at Riu Republica Resort’s disco before the group left around 4am and headed to the shoreline at a Punta Cana beach.

Sudiksha, her five friends and Riibe – a student at St Cloud State University in Minnesota – hung out for a while.

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Sudiksha was last seen by a fellow spring breaker at the beachCredit: TikTok/sudikshakonanki
 

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Military personnel search for SudikshaCredit: AP
 

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Armed forces used drones as part of the search operationCredit: Reuters
Eventually around 5.50am her friends headed to bed, leaving her and Riibe alone.

They talked for a while before kissing in waist-deep water, Riibe later told police.

While they were kissing in the ocean, a “big wave” hit them both and swept them out to sea, Riibe said.

Riibe, who said he had experience as a lifeguard, told police it took him a long time to get Sudiksha out of the water.

But he was able to drag her until she was “knee-deep and walking at an angle out of the water.”

Riibe said he called out for her but didn’t hear a response.

He said he then got sick, throwing up ocean water he swallowed during the rescue and passed out on the beach.

“After vomiting, I looked around. I didn’t see anyone. I thought she had grabbed her things and left,” he told police.

CCTV captured a shirtless, shoeless Riibe leaving the beach and returning to the resort around 8.55am.

Dominican authorities quickly suspected that she’d drowned. Search parties scoured the land and sea for two weeks but she has never been seen again.

Riibe was held in Dominican custody for over a week before he was released.

Lawyers for the government have said that he is a “witness” and “has never been accused”.

The Sun has approached Sudiksha’s parents and the Dominican Republic police for a response.

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Eerie pic shows Joshua Riibe walking alone after Sudiksha vanishedCredit: WPXI
 

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A group of revellers, including Josh and Sudiksha, walked down to the beach in the early hours of the morningCredit: Sin
 

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Sudiksha was last seen on March 6 at 4.50am on the beach at Riu Republica ResortCredit: Riu Republica – Adults Only