Authorities within the Dominican Republic are turning up the warmth on the Iowa man who was the final particular person to see College of Pittsburgh pupil Sudiksha Konanki earlier than she went lacking — grilling him into the early morning hours on Sunday.
Joshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud State College in Minnesota, was interrogated by Dominican Lawyer Common Yeni Berenice Reynoso and Navy Vice Admiral Agustin Morillo Rodriguez till practically 3 a.m., the Spanish-language outlet Noticias SIN reported.
Each high-ranking officers have been noticed leaving the RIU Resort & Resort in Punta Cana, the place Riibe, 22, has been “in custody” since shortly after Konanki went lacking on March 6, in keeping with the report.
Riibe is taken into account a “particular person of curiosity” in Konanki’s disappearance, however has not been accused of wrongdoing or charged.
Authorities have seized his passport so he can’t go away till the investigation is completed. They’ve additionally put him underneath police monitoring, the Dominican authorities stated.
“Joshua Steven Riibe, who has been recognized as a “particular person of curiosity,” stays in custody and is being interrogated on the Nationwide Police’s Gender Violence Unit to collect extra details about the incident,” a rep for the Caribbean nation stated in an replace on Friday.
“So long as authorities contemplate Joshua Steven Riibe a key factor within the investigation, he’ll stay in custody,” the discover stated.
A large seek for Konanki entered its tenth day on Sunday, with a whole bunch of legislation enforcement personnel concerned, together with from the FBI, the US Division of Homeland Safety and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Workplace from her hometown in Virginia.
Police initially believed that the 20-year-old coed drowned within the often harmful surf, which has already claimed three lives earlier this yr. However, they alter stated they haven’t dominated out foul play.
In accordance with police, Konanki and Riibe, alongside along with her associates, stumbled out onto the seashore on the upscale resort shortly after 4 am on March 6, however later left the pair alone and returned to the resort.
Surveillance video from the RUI resort exhibits the 2 holding fingers and staggering arm-in-arm whereas taking a selfie on a walkway to the seashore within the hours earlier than Konanki disappeared.
Riibe allegedly instructed investigators that the 2 went into the water however have been caught within the tough surf, and stated he pulled Konanki to security however handed out after swallowing water through the ordeal.
He stated he requested Konanki if she was okay earlier than passing out.
“It took me a very long time to get her out, it was troublesome,” Riibe instructed officers, in keeping with a transcript obtained by Noticias SIN. “I used to be a lifeguard within the pool, not within the sea.
“The final time I noticed her I requested if she was okay,” he allegedly stated. “I didn’t hear her reply as a result of I began vomiting all the ocean water I had swallowed”
Riibe stated he wakened and returned to his room, assuming she had additionally left.
Police stated Konanki’s garments have been discovered on a chaise lounge on the seashore.
Authorities have stated they consider Konanki might have drowned within the tough currents on the seashore however haven’t dominated out foul play and proceed to query Riibe.
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