Whereabouts Of Missing Student Has Authorities Perplexed

Authorities are baffled as the search for a missing University of Pittsburgh student in the Dominican Republic is entering its second week.

Police there now say they are not ruling out foul play in the case involving Sudiksha Konanki.

Konanki can be seen on surveillance video with previously questioned 24-year-old Joshua Riibe from Iowa, walking to the beach in an upscale Punta Cana resort.

Police in Konaki's hometown of Loudon County, Virginia, caution that Riibe is not a suspect.

He told investigators that he helped save Konanki from the ocean, but ultimately assumed she had "taken her things and left."

The pair met that night after a night of drinking, Riibe confirmed.

They were swimming when a large wave hit them and Riibe, a pool lifeguard, helped her toward shore.

He said the last time he saw her, she was making her way out of the water toward her belongings, but Riibe was vomiting because of the water he swallowed.

Divers have been looking for the 20-year-old's body in rough surf waters around the resort.

The Dominican Republic is a popular destination for tourists from the United States, including Utah, which has strong ties to the DR via missionary service through the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

There are currently over 150,000 member of the LDS Church in the Dominican Republic, out of a total population of 11.3 million people, roughly 1.4 percent of the total population.

In addition, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has sent thousands of proselyting missionaries to the Dominican Republic over the years, has four missions in the country and two of its LDS Temples there.

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