The disappearance of a 20 -year -old American student during his spring vacation in the Dominican Republic has initiated an “exhaustive search for sea, air and land” by the Dominican police with drones, helicopters, divers, vessels and canine units.
Authorities of the Dominican Republic are looking for a 20 -year -old American student who disappeared during his spring vacation in the tourist town of Punta Cana.
The young woman, identified as Sudiksha Konanki, was last seen in the early morning of March 6 on a beach located near the hotel where she stayed with several friends, according to Dominican police officers, who They reported That the search continued on Sunday.
Konanki is a student at the University of Pittsburgh and together with five studies colleagues arrived in the Dominican Republic on March 3 and stayed at the same hotel.
The National Police of the Caribbean country knew its disappearance on Friday morning, when a “exhaustive search for sea, air and land” with drones, helicopters, divers, boats and canine units began.
The authorities believe that it disappeared around 4:15 am, after she and her friends were captured in a surveillance video entering the hotel beach area. His friends returned to the hotel, but she didn't.
The Prosecutor's Office was interviewing his friends, while police officers reported that they interviewed a young man who was on the beach at that time and is trying to corroborate his version of the facts.
Konanki's family resides in Virginia. The Sheriff's Office of the Loudoun County in Virginia was contacted to report its disappearance, according to Sheriff Michael Chapman.
Chapman said Konanki's parents are traveling to Punta Cana. Konanki's family refused to comment on the search.
He said the authorities are reviewing the images of the security cameras in search of signs of it and cell phone data.
“Without a doubt, we have experts here in the US that will analyze all aspects of their phone, the phones of their friends, any person with whom they could have been, to see exactly what could have happened there,” Chapman said according to reports from the NBC chain.
Chapman said his office is working with the authorities of the Dominican Republic, as well as with the US Department of State. The FBI said that the Dominican authorities are leading the investigation, but that the office “is ready to help our international partners with any request for assistance.”
The five friends of the University of Konanki had planned to return to the United States on Friday, but they stayed to help in the search, said Sheriff's office spokesman Thomas Julia.
The authorities said it is not clear if their disappearance is accidental or if there was a crime. “At this time, it is something that goes from an accident to a crime,” Julia told NBC News. “At this time everything is under consideration. Nothing has been ruled out.”
The University of Pittsburgh said it was in contact with Konanki's family and offered support in research. The Embassy of India in the Dominican Republic is also helping in the investigation, because Konanki is also a citizen of India.
(With information from The Associated Press)