Tragedy in the Dominican Republic: witness described the last moments before disappearance
18 march 2025 в 02:13
In his fourth interrogation on March 12, Ribbe described how he and Konanki were on the beach when a strong wave swept them into the sea. He recounted how he struggled to save Konanki, fighting his own exhaustion.
«I managed to pull her out for a long time. It was difficult», - Ribbe said, according to the Dominican news agency Noticias SIN. He explained that although he was trained as a lifeguard, he only worked in pools, not on the beach.
«I tried to make her breathe all the time. This didn’t allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water. I could have lost consciousness several times. When I finally reached the shore, I held her in front of me».
Ribbe continued to describe the last moments spent with Konanki, saying: «The last time I saw her, I asked if she was okay. I didn’t hear her answer because I started vomiting all the sea water I had swallowed. After vomiting, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I thought she had taken her things and left. I felt very bad and tired. I lay on a sunbed and fell asleep because I couldn’t go far».
Ribbe is cooperating with law enforcement, but his parents stated that he was detained «under the wrong conditions» and interrogated without official translators or legal counsel until March 12. He remains under police surveillance in his hotel room and has been repeatedly taken in for questioning at the police station. In light of this, his family has hired a lawyer «to initiate legal actions ensuring his safety and protecting his rights».
He and Konanki also spent time on the beach «kissing» before her disappearance, as Ribbe told local authorities in an interview obtained by NBC News.
No, a person of interest is not the same as a suspect.
A person of interest is anyone whom the police believe has important information about a crime. This person may be a witness or someone who has a close relationship with the victim. After gathering evidence and information from the person of interest, the police may identify the side they believe committed the crime, at which point this person becomes a suspect. A person of interest can help the police find a suspect or ultimately turn out to be the suspect.
Konanki, a medical school student at the University of Pittsburgh, arrived in Punta Cana with her friends on March 3. Her current whereabouts are unknown, and it remains unclear whether she is alive.
According to Konanki’s father, Subbarayudu Konanki, she «went to the beach on March 6 early in the morning around 4 a.m. with friends and some other guys they met at the resort. After that, her friends returned after some time, and my daughter did not return, did not show up at the beach».
«So far, the authorities, several authorities here in the Dominican Republic, have been searching in the waters», - he added, according to CNN. «They searched using helicopters and other tools. They also searched in the nearby bay, bushes, trees. They went several times to the same places».
A local police source told the publication that surveillance footage captured five women and one man leaving the beach at the Riu República hotel at 5:55 a.m., with Konanki believed to have stayed on the beach with another young man. At 9:55 a.m., the young man was seen leaving the beach on later surveillance footage, but Konanki was not visible. Konanki’s father asked the police to investigate whether his daughter’s disappearance was a kidnapping or a case of human trafficking, he told CNN.
New information has emerged indicating that Konanki ended up in the ocean with Ribbe and struggled to return to the beach. Her white flowy dress was also found on a sunbed next to where she was last seen
«I managed to pull her out for a long time. It was difficult», - Ribbe said, according to the Dominican news agency Noticias SIN. He explained that although he was trained as a lifeguard, he only worked in pools, not on the beach.
«I tried to make her breathe all the time. This didn’t allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water. I could have lost consciousness several times. When I finally reached the shore, I held her in front of me».
Ribbe continued to describe the last moments spent with Konanki, saying: «The last time I saw her, I asked if she was okay. I didn’t hear her answer because I started vomiting all the sea water I had swallowed. After vomiting, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I thought she had taken her things and left. I felt very bad and tired. I lay on a sunbed and fell asleep because I couldn’t go far».
Ribbe is cooperating with law enforcement, but his parents stated that he was detained «under the wrong conditions» and interrogated without official translators or legal counsel until March 12. He remains under police surveillance in his hotel room and has been repeatedly taken in for questioning at the police station. In light of this, his family has hired a lawyer «to initiate legal actions ensuring his safety and protecting his rights».
He and Konanki also spent time on the beach «kissing» before her disappearance, as Ribbe told local authorities in an interview obtained by NBC News.
No, a person of interest is not the same as a suspect.
A person of interest is anyone whom the police believe has important information about a crime. This person may be a witness or someone who has a close relationship with the victim. After gathering evidence and information from the person of interest, the police may identify the side they believe committed the crime, at which point this person becomes a suspect. A person of interest can help the police find a suspect or ultimately turn out to be the suspect.
Konanki, a medical school student at the University of Pittsburgh, arrived in Punta Cana with her friends on March 3. Her current whereabouts are unknown, and it remains unclear whether she is alive.
According to Konanki’s father, Subbarayudu Konanki, she «went to the beach on March 6 early in the morning around 4 a.m. with friends and some other guys they met at the resort. After that, her friends returned after some time, and my daughter did not return, did not show up at the beach».
«So far, the authorities, several authorities here in the Dominican Republic, have been searching in the waters», - he added, according to CNN. «They searched using helicopters and other tools. They also searched in the nearby bay, bushes, trees. They went several times to the same places».
A local police source told the publication that surveillance footage captured five women and one man leaving the beach at the Riu República hotel at 5:55 a.m., with Konanki believed to have stayed on the beach with another young man. At 9:55 a.m., the young man was seen leaving the beach on later surveillance footage, but Konanki was not visible. Konanki’s father asked the police to investigate whether his daughter’s disappearance was a kidnapping or a case of human trafficking, he told CNN.
New information has emerged indicating that Konanki ended up in the ocean with Ribbe and struggled to return to the beach. Her white flowy dress was also found on a sunbed next to where she was last seen
© Puhova Marina
