Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (AP) – The parents of a US university student who disappeared in the resort town of Punta Cana almost two weeks ago, asked authorities to declare they were legally dead.
In a letter to Dominican police issued Monday, Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki said local authorities believe Sudiksha, a 20-year-old student at the University of Pittsburgh, owned after a massive search.
“Initiating this process allows the family to begin a grief process and address issues related to her absence,” they write. “While the declaration really does not relieve the sadness, I believe this step will bring some closure and allow us to respect her memory.”
Officers who were not permitted to talk about the incident confirmed that authorities received the letter on Tuesday.
Sudiksha Konanki and five female friends traveled to the Caribbean for spring break on March 3rd. Police said they disappeared near the hotel on the beach before dawn on March 6th.
Authorities interviewed people who were with Conanki before she disappeared, including Joshua Libe, a senior at St. Cloud University in Minnesota.
Libe is detained by Dominican police and is believed to be the last person to meet Conanki. He has not been appointed as a suspect.
He is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday afternoon at the request of his lawyer that he will be released.
According to a transcript of interviews with prosecutors reported by Dominican media and NBC and Telemundo, Libe told police he was drinking with Conanki on the beach and kissing at sea when they were caught in the present. Libe said he was a former lifeguard and helped her take her to track and field.
He told investigators he vomited when he arrived at the beach and told Conanki he was going to take out his own. When he looked up, she was gone. He later said he was surprised to hear her disappearance.
In their letter, Conan Kiss writes that the “individual” seen last with his daughter is working together and that no evidence of foul play has been found.
Sudiksha Konanki was born in India and later became a permanent resident of the United States.
