The man who last saw a missing student at the University of Pittsburgh Sudicksha Konanki told investigators that he had tried to save her from the ocean and that he thought she was well and “took her things and left.”
Authorities believe that Konanki, a 20-year-old who disappeared while on the spring break in Punta Cana, died of drowning, officials told ABC News.
A member of the Dog Defense Zone searches Sudicksha Konanki, a student from the University of the United States who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, the Dominican Republic, March. 10, 2025.
Francesco Spotorno/AP
On March 5, Konanki was part of a group that went to a nightclub and then a walk on the beach, three Dominican officials participated in the ABC News investigation. Most of the group returned to the hotel at about 5:55 h. A man-22-year-old Joshua Reebe, a senior at the college in Minnesota, a beach, and the two went to swim, according to a police report in the Dominican Republic.
Reebe, who met Konki tonight, confirmed that he and the 20-year-old kiss after a night of drinking, he told a prosecutor on Thursday, according to a transcript provided to the ABC News by two sources of the Dominican Republic.
“A big wave came and both hit us, then the tide pulled us into the ocean,” he told the prosecutor. “When we floated, we tried to ask for help, but there was no one there.”
Sudiksha Konanki is seen in this unpaid photo shared on Meta.
Sudiksha Konanki by Meta
Reebe, the pool savior, said he “holds her under my arm and swimming to get her out of the water.”
“I was trying to make sure she could breathe all the time – it prevented me from breathing all the time and I took a lot of water,” he explained.
“When I finally touched the sand, I put it in front of me. Then she got up to go to take her things, as the ocean moved us, ”Reebe told the prosecutor. “She was not out of the water as she was up to her knee. She was going at an angle in the water.”
“The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was fine. I didn’t hear her answer because I started vomiting with all the water I had swallowed,” he said. “After vomiting, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I thought she had taken things and left.”
“After seeing her move away as she was walking in the water, I never saw her again,” he said.
Reybe said he came out on a beach chair and woke up to the sun and mosquitoes on it. He was seen in surveillance footage, which returned to his room a few hours later.
Authorities said Reebe was not suspected and cooperated. But the prosecutor’s office said it was “conducting numerous investigative steps that extend beyond a possible accident.”
Reybe is “deeply horrified by his disappearance and fully cooperates with the search,” his parents Albert and Tina Reebe said on Friday.
“His faith and values have directed his path and those who know him can testify to his integrity and a good heart,” they said.
“Despite his full willingness to collaborate, Josh has been detained under incorrect conditions and has been subjected to extensive issues without the presence of official translators or legal counsel until Wednesday,” his parents say. “We admit that this is a complex and painful situation for all participating countries and we trust that the investigation will be conducted with transparency and justice. Our only interest is to observe the proper process and to take action with the justice that the situation requires.”
“We express our deep sorrow and solidarity with the family of Sudicksha Konanski during this painful time,” the parents said. “First of all, we want to contribute to the search efforts and to understand the grief and insecurity they go through, and we share the hope that Sudicksha will be found as soon as possible.”
ABC News Caroline Gutri has contributed to this report.
