Dominican Republic investigators intensify search for missing India-born female college student

Investigators continue to search for a college student from Virginia who vanished earlier this month while visiting the Dominican Republic with five other people during spring break from classes.

Sudiksha Konanki was last seen on March 6 during a power outage at the Riu República Hotel in the beach resort town of Punta Cana.

Dominican police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are involved in the search for Konanki, a 20-year-old student from the University of Pittsburgh.

Police say she disappeared at a beach by the hotel before dawn, as she and other guests had headed outside amid the power outage.

Her family says her belongings, including a phone and wallet, were left with her friends, although she's known to always carry her phone.

Konanki and five other female students flew to the country on March 3.

Konanki lives in Chantilly, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C., and is a citizen of India and a US permanent resident.

Her parents, Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki, have sought to widen the investigation into her disappearance.

University of Pittsburgh officials say they've been in contact with the Konanki family and authorities in Virginia, and have offered their support in the search.

Dominican police say they've been reinterviewing people who were with Konanki before she went missing.

Investigators have been using drones, helicopters and detection dogs to search waters off the island's east coast.

Dominican President Luis Abinader said on Monday that the last person known to be with her says a wave crashed into them while they were on the beach.

Civil Defence Director Juan Salas says investigators haven't found her clothing.

Associated Press