The parents of Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old Indian college student from the University of Pittsburgh, suspect that their daughter drowned during a vacation trip to the Dominican Republic. Sudiksha was last spotted on March 6, and since then, search parties and authorities have been making efforts to find her without any luck.
Her family, beside themselves with worry, thinks she might have drowned while on a beach excursion. “We just want answers and closure,” said her father, who flew to the Dominican Republic to help search for her.
Local authorities are investigating the incident as a missing persons case but have not dismissed any scenario, including accidental drowning. Friends and classmates at the University of Pittsburgh are meanwhile holding vigils and posting pleas on social media for any news.
The incident has attracted a lot of attention from the Indian expatriate and international student community, raising issues of safety for travelers in the area.