A College Student Disappeared While Visiting Punta Cana — Here's What We Know

Mere hours before Sudiksha Konanki went missing, she was seen drinking and hanging out with friends on a beach near her hotel in Punta Cana, per CNN. The 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student traveled to the Dominican Republic with five of her friends for spring break and was hanging out with them along with two boys.

Konanki's family is from India, but they have been permanent residents of the United States since 2006 and currently live in Virginia.

Like her friends, Sudiksha family is deeply worried about her. Her father, Subbarayudu Konanki, told the outlet that his "daughter is a very nice girl." He added, "She’s ambitious. She wanted to pursue a career in medicine." The circumstances surrounding her disappearance are certainly troubling.

What happened to her? Here's what we know.

Sudiksha was last seen in the early morning hours of March 6, 2025. A surveillance camera from the Riu República Hotel in Punta Cana recorded Sudiksha with seven other people walking toward the beach at 4:15 a.m. Less than an hour later, five friends and one young man returned to the hotel, sans Sudiksha. "Her friends came back after some time, and my daughter did not come back, did not show up from the beach," said her father.

The second man left the beach at 8:55 a.m. without Sudiksha. When she didn't return to her room, Sudiksha's friends went looking for her and told hotel staff she was missing at 4 p.m. the afternoon of March 6. Law enforcement found her bathing suit cover on a lounge chair by the beach but saw no evidence of violence.

Sheriff Mike Chapman of the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia said they are operating as if Sudiksha is alive and are doing all they can to find her, per WUSA9.

Police questioned a young man in his 20s, who they believe was the last person to see Sudiksha. His story was not consistent. The young man told them he and Sudiksha both went swimming in the ocean, but he felt sick, got out, and fell asleep on a lounge chair. In another version of that morning's events, he said Sudiksha could have been swept away by a wave. He also said she could have left when he got out of the water. Finally, the young man said he saw Sudiksha walking in the water toward her clothes.

Although he has not been officially charged with anything, the young man was being kept in a hotel room while the investigation continued. He is not considered to be a suspect.

Sudiksha's father is pressuring local police to treat this as a possible kidnapping, and he wants them to "also investigate other possibilities, including whether this is a case of kidnapping or human trafficking."

The Loudon County Sheriff's office released a statement urging people to avoid speculation as to what happened.