The man last known to be seen with a University of Pittsburgh student before she vanished from a beach in the Dominican Republic gave more details to local prosecutors about the last time he saw her, Dominican news agency Noticias SIN reported.
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, disappeared from the beach of the Riu República Hotel in the early hours of March 6, sparking a frantic search involving authorities from the Dominican Republic, the United States and India, where Konanki was born.
The man who was with her at the beach, Joshua Steven Riibe, told prosecutors he and Konanki were hit by an intense wave and were swept out to sea when the water returned, according to Noticias SIN. Riibe is not considered a suspect in the case and has not been accused of wrongdoing.
During his fourth interview with prosecutors on March 12, Riibe described a harrowing attempt to save Konanki after they were jostled by the wave.
“It took me a long time to get her out. It was difficult,” Riibe said, according to Noticias SIN. He said he was trained as a lifeguard, but worked at pools, not at the beach.
“I was trying to get her to breathe the whole time. That didn’t allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water. I could have lost consciousness several times. When I finally reached the ground on the beach, I held her in front of me.”
He said he last saw Konanki when she was walking in knee-deep water.
“The last time I saw her, I asked if she was OK. I didn’t hear her answer because I started vomiting up all the seawater I had swallowed.”
“After vomiting, I looked around, and I didn’t see anyone. I thought she had grabbed her things and left,” Riibe said.
“I felt very sick and tired. I lay down on a beach chair and fell asleep because I couldn’t go far.”
Riibe’s aunt, Theresa Riibe, issued a statement Thursday to the Minnesota Star Tribune, asking for privacy.
“Our family is going through a very difficult time right now, and we’re experiencing a lot of sadness and pain,” the statement said. “We kindly ask for privacy as we navigate this challenging moment together.”
CNN’s Lex Harvey contributed to this report.
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