FBI joins Dominican Republic search for missing University of Pittsburgh student, police say

The FBI has joined the Dominican Republic’s police in searching for Sudiksha Konanki, the University of Pittsburgh student who went missing a week ago while on spring break. 

Konanki, 20, vanished Thursday in Punta Cana, a town located on the easternmost tip of the Dominican Republic. 

The Dominican Republic’s police said in a statement Monday that it was reinterviewing individuals who were with the University of Pittsburgh student before she disappeared, including hotel workers. 

Konanki was seen March 6 around 4:50 a.m. local time on the beach at the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana, according to the missing person posters shared by the local outlet, Listin Diario. 

The hotel said a power outage occurred at the same time sending several guests to the beach, The Associated Press reported. 

A team of forensic technicians is performing an analysis of video surveillance footage, from when Konanki arrived in the Dominican Republic until now, law enforcement said Monday. 

When she was last seen, Konanki was wearing big round earrings, yellow and steel bracelets on her right hand, a multicolored beaded bracelet on her left hand, a brown bikini and a metal designer anklet on her right leg, according to the poster. 

Konanki, from Chantilly, Va., is a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia. 

The sheriff’s office added that Konanki was vacationing with five other female college friends at the resort. 

NewsNation’s Ashleigh Banfield was the first to report on the developments in the case during her show “Banfield” (weeknights, 10 p.m. ET) on Monday.

When reached for comment, the FBI referred The Hill to authorities from the Dominican Republic. 

“The FBI continues to assist our international partners on this matter,” the FBI said in a statement.

Updated at 7:48 p.m. EDT.