A 20-year-old student from the University of Pittsburgh has gone missing during her spring break trip in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. Sudiksha Konanki, a resident of a Washington, DC suburb, was reported missing on Thursday while vacationing with her classmates in the popular resort town, according to officials from the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office.
Konanki was last seen on the beach, dressed in a bikini. The young woman, who was part of a group visiting the Caribbean island-nation, was reported missing on Thursday evening. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office was alerted about the missing female who was part of a group traveling in Punta Cana.
According to reports, Konanki was last spotted around 4:50 a.m. on the beach at Riu Republica Resort. A missing persons poster described her as 5 feet, 3 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she was wearing a brown bikini, large round earrings, a metal designer anklet on her right leg, yellow and steel bracelets on her right hand, and a multicolored beaded bracelet on her left hand.
The University of Pittsburgh has issued a statement saying they are in contact with Konanki’s family and local authorities in Virginia, who are assisting in the search. University spokesperson Jared Stonesifer stated, “University officials are in contact with Sudiksha Konanki’s family as well as authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia, and we have offered our full support in their efforts to find her and bring her home safely.”
Defensa Civil, a search and rescue force in the Dominican Republic, began their search for the missing student on Saturday and planned to continue their efforts early Sunday morning. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is urging anyone with information to come forward.