Who is Sudiksha Konanki: The Pitt student missing in the Dominican Republic
Updated: 6:54 PM EDT Mar 9, 2025
THANKS FOR JOINING US TONIGHT. I’M CHANDI CHAPMAN SUDIKSHA. HE HASN’T BEEN SEEN SINCE THURSDAY. PITTSBURGH’S ACTION NEWS FOUR REPORTER JORDAN CIOPPA IS LIVE, WITH THE LATEST ON THE EFFORTS TO FIND HER. JORDAN. CHANDI. THIS IS THE SECOND DAY OF SEARCHING FOR SUDIKSHA. KUNAKEY. THE PITT STUDENT WAS ON SPRING BREAK IN PUNTA CANA ON THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, WHEN AUTHORITIES SAY SHE WENT MISSING WHILE WALKING ON THE BEACH. NOW NEW TONIGHT, THREE DOMINICAN OFFICIALS TELL ABC NEWS SHE MAY HAVE DIED BY DROWNING AFTER SHE WENT FOR A SWIM AND WAS CAUGHT UP IN A BIG WAVE. NOW A SEARCH AND RESCUE GROUP ON THE ISLAND SPENT MUCH OF THE DAY SATURDAY LOOKING FOR HER AND RESUMED THEIR SEARCH THIS MORNING. POSTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA SHOW THEM USING BOATS, DRONES AND HELICOPTERS ALONG THE SHORELINE. NOW HE IS FROM LOUDOUN COUNTY, VIRGINIA, AND THE SHERIFF’S OFFICE THERE TELLS US SHE WAS LAST SEEN WALKING ON A BEACH NEAR A RESORT AROUND 430 IN THE MORNING. A SPOKESMAN FOR THE AGENCY SAYS THEY BELIEVE THERE WERE SIX FEMALE STUDENTS FROM PITT ON THE TRIP, BUT THEY DON’T KNOW IF SHE WENT MISSING ACCIDENTALLY OR IF FOUL PLAY WAS INVOLVED. THEY TELL US THE FBI HAS BEEN BRIEFED ON THE SITUATION AND STUDENTS. THE STUDENT’S PARENTS HAVE TRAVELED FROM VIRGINIA TO THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC TO HELP IN THE SEARCH. NOW, HERE’S ANOTHER LOOK AT SUDIKSHA KUNAKEY. EXCUSE ME. AUTHORITIES SAY SHE WAS WEARING A BROWN BIKINI, LARGE HOOP EARRINGS, AND A METAL ANKLET ON HER RIGHT LEG WHEN SHE VANISHED. NOW, SEVERAL AGENCIES ARE INVOLVED IN THE SEARCH, INCLUDING CIVIL DEFENSE. FIREFIGHTERS, THE NATIONAL POLICE, AND EVEN THE DOMINICAN NAVY. A SPOKESPERSON AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SAYS THEY ARE IN TOUCH WITH THE STUDENT’S FAMILY, AND THEY’RE OFFERING FULL SUPPORT IN THEIR EFFORTS TO FIND HER. REPORTING LIVE ON THE UNIVERSITY
Who is Sudiksha Konanki: The Pitt student missing in the Dominican Republic
Updated: 6:54 PM EDT Mar 9, 2025
Multiple search and rescue groups are continuing to search for a student from the University of Pittsburgh who went missing during a spring break trip Thursday. WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR ABOUT THE SITUATIONMultiple posts on social media have shown officials in the Dominican Republic searching for 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki, who was last seen on video surveillance on March 6 at 4:50 a.m. on the beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana. Officials from Konanki’s state of residency believe five other people traveled to the resort during Pitt’s spring break, which started on March 2. “We now believe there were six female students of the University of Pittsburgh traveling to Punta Cana,” Thomas Julia of the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia said. “At least two of whom, including the missing person, are residents of Loudoun County.”Julia also said the missing student is also a citizen of India.“So the embassy of India in the Dominican Republic has taken the lead on the ground, working with our State Department and local law enforcement there,” Julia said. The FBI has since been briefed on the situation, Julia said. Several agencies are also involved in the search — including civil defense, firefighters, the national police and the Dominican Navy. Konanki’s parents have traveled from Virginia to the Dominican Republic to help in the search.As of Sunday evening, three Dominican officials tell ABC News the Pitt student may have died by drowning after she went for a swim and was caught by a big wave. WHO IS SUDIKSHA KONANKI?Konanki is currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. According to Pitt’s website, she is said to be studying biological sciences and chemistry. The website did not list an official declaration of her major. According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated in 2022 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where she earned a diploma in biological sciences. U.S. News & World Report ranked Thomas Jefferson as the No. 1 high school in America in 2021 and 2022. HOW YOU CAN HELP IN THE SEARCH Anyone with information is urged to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021.
PITTSBURGH —Multiple search and rescue groups are continuing to search for a student from the University of Pittsburgh who went missing during a spring break trip Thursday.
WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR ABOUT THE SITUATION
Multiple posts on social media have shown officials in the Dominican Republic searching for 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki, who was last seen on video surveillance on March 6 at 4:50 a.m. on the beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana.
Officials from Konanki’s state of residency believe five other people traveled to the resort during Pitt’s spring break, which started on March 2.
“We now believe there were six female students of the University of Pittsburgh traveling to Punta Cana,” Thomas Julia of the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia said. “At least two of whom, including the missing person, are residents of Loudoun County.”
Julia also said the missing student is also a citizen of India.
“So the embassy of India in the Dominican Republic has taken the lead on the ground, working with our State Department and local law enforcement there,” Julia said.
The FBI has since been briefed on the situation, Julia said.
Several agencies are also involved in the search — including civil defense, firefighters, the national police and the Dominican Navy.
Konanki’s parents have traveled from Virginia to the Dominican Republic to help in the search.
As of Sunday evening, three Dominican officials tell ABC News the Pitt student may have died by drowning after she went for a swim and was caught by a big wave.
WHO IS SUDIKSHA KONANKI?
Konanki is currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. According to Pitt’s website, she is said to be studying biological sciences and chemistry. The website did not list an official declaration of her major.
According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated in 2022 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where she earned a diploma in biological sciences.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Thomas Jefferson as the No. 1 high school in America in 2021 and 2022.
HOW YOU CAN HELP IN THE SEARCH
Anyone with information is urged to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021.
