Joshua Riibe revealed during his police interview that eh and Pittsburg University student Sudiksha Konanki kissed in the ocean before a wave nearly pulled them under. Riibe claimed he saved her from drowning, despite nearly losing consciousness himself. However, Riibe declined to answer several key questions, staying silent when officers.
Riibe also revealed that he had previously worked as a lifeguard at a swimming pool and tried to save Konanki before he began feeling unwell and lost consciousness. Riibe has been named a person of interest in the case. This came as the last Venmo transactions of Konanki were revealed before she disappeared from a resort in the Dominican Republic.
Kiss Before Disappearance
A full transcript of Riibe's police interview has now surfaced, revealing details about his last interactions with Konanki and the chaotic events following her mysterious disappearance.
However, Riibe declined to answer several key questions, staying silent when officers asked whether Konanki could swim, if she called for help, and what he told a friend after that fateful night.
Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, said that he had only recently met Konanki before they decided to go to the beach together, according to an interview transcript obtained by Noticias SIN.
He revealed that they kissed in the ocean before a wave nearly pulled them under. Riibe claimed he rescued her from drowning, despite nearly losing consciousness himself.
"We were in waist-deep water. We talked and kissed a bit," Riibe said. "A big wave came and hit us both. And when the water returned, it swept us out to sea. As soon as we were able to surface, we tried to call for help."
He mentioned that he had previously worked as a lifeguard at a swimming pool and tried to guide them both to safety before he began feeling unwell. "I was getting tired. I realized she was getting tired of swimming too. I've been a lifeguard. I grabbed her and pulled her out. I held her under my arm and swam to get her out of the water," Riibe said.
"It took me a long time to get her out. It was difficult. I was a lifeguard in a pool, not at sea. I was trying to get her to breathe the whole time. That didn't let me breathe the whole time and I swallowed a lot of water. I could have lost consciousness several times."
Unanswered Questions
The 24-year-old said that he managed to reach the shore but claimed that Sudiksha was still in the water when he saw her last. "When I finally reached the ground on the beach, I held her in front of me. She wasn't out of the water, she was knee-deep and walking at an angle out the water," he said.
He remembered Konanki saying that she was going to get her belongings after the water had carried them away from their original spot. The 20-year-old was still in knee-deep water, moving at an "angle."
"The last time I saw her, I asked if she was okay. I didn't hear her reply because I started vomiting all the water I had swallowed. After vomiting, I looked around. I didn't see anyone. I thought she had grabbed her things and left."
He told investigators that he lost consciousness on the beach and didn't learn about Sudiksha's disappearance until the next day when her friends messaged his friend. "I felt really bad and tired. I laid down on a beach chair. I fell asleep because I couldn't go far," Riibe said.
"Then I woke up because of the sun and because mosquitoes were biting me. I went to my friend's room to get my phone and then went back to my room to sleep."
While being questioned by authorities, Riibe refused to respond to eight critical questions about the case, repeatedly giving the same 14-word reply: "My lawyers advise me not to answer that question, and I follow their advice."
Investigators had hoped to gain more details and clarity from Riibe about various aspects of his night with Konanki. The specific questions he chose not to answer included:
- How can we verify that everything you have said corresponds to the truth?
- Could you tell us what you told your friend Carter Joseph, when he asked about the missing girl Konanki – Sudiksha?
- What do you think about Sudiksha's disappearance?
- Did young Sudiksha know how to swim or not?
- Do you remember if young Sudiksha made any gestures or cries while she was in the sea?
- Did you inform the authorities or the hotel what had happened to you and the girl on the beach?
- Did you tell your friend what had happened with you and the girl on the beach?
- How do you feel about this situation?
Konanki was reported missing around 4 p.m. on March 6 by the friends she had traveled with to the Caribbean. Authorities initially suspected she had drowned but said on Wednesday that they had not ruled out the possibility of foul play.
Riibe's account seems to align with an investigative police report, which, as cited by ABC, saying that the Indian national was struck by a large wave while swimming at night.
The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office, the law enforcement agency in Konanki's Virginia hometown, identified Riibe as a person of interest but clarified that he is not considered a suspect.
Authorities on the island believe that a power outage at the resort— which disabled the surveillance cameras— may have prompted the pair to head to the beach.
On March 5, just hours before her last known sighting, Konanki made two Venmo payments. The first payment was sent at 2:54 p.m. to an unidentified "new user," with Konanki using a sailboat emoji as the description.
The second transaction was made at 3:38 p.m. and was labeled "Coco Bongo," referring to a well-known nightclub in Punta Cana. The payment was made to Ananya Chilakamarri, one of the students on the trip.
