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Search ramps up for missing U.S. student in the Dominican Republic
Fox News national correspondent Nate Foy has the latest on the search for a missing U.S. student in the Dominican Republic on ‘The Story.’
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FIRST ON FOX – PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic – Beth Holloway said there is one key difference between the search for her daughter Natalee 20 years ago and the search for Sudiksha Konanki, the 20-year-old who vanished in the Dominican Republic last week.
Holloway, whose daughter Natalee disappeared from the Caribbean island of Aruba on May 30, 2005, has been an outspoken advocate for student safety following her daughter’s death.
American college student Sudiksha Konanki disappearance and Natalee Holloway’s disappearance have been linked due to the cases’ similarities.
Beth Holloway broke her silence on the case in a statement to Fox News Digital on Tuesday.
BETH HOLLOWAY ADDRESSES MISSING AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT, URGES ‘FULL CIRCLE’ SAFETY PLAN
A sign of Natalee Holloway, an Alabama high school graduate who disappeared while on a graduation trip to Aruba, is seen on Palm Beach, in front of her hotel in Aruba, Friday, June 10, 2005, as a ribbon in her memory blows in the breeze. (AP Photo/Leslie Mazoch)
“The family is so fortunate to have an American embassy there to work with,” Beth Holloway, the mother of Natalee Holloway, said. “I did not have that in Aruba.”
Both the young women vanished in Caribbean countries while on vacation.
Natalee Holloway disappeared during a high school graduation celebration at a hotel in Aruba, while Konanki disappeared during on a spring break trip with her University of Pittsburgh friends at an all-inclusive resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.
Natalee Holloway was last seen alive on May 30, 2005, leaving a bar with Joran van der Sloot. He was the prime suspect in her disappearance for the following 18 years and finally admitted to killing her in an Oct. 3, 2023 confession made public after he pleaded guilty to the extortion case.
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Konanki was last seen on surveillance camera with five other people entering the beach at the Riu República Hotel in Punta Cana after 4:15 a.m. Thursday, the Dominican National Police said in a statement.
Surveillance video, obtained by Noticias SIN, captured the group striding towards the beach at the five-star resort. The footage is the last time authorities tracked Konanki before the Virginia resident disappeared.
Konanki’s disappearance has sparked widespread speculation about the events leading up to it, prompting law enforcement in both the Dominican Republic and the U.S. to investigate.
MISSING AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT SEEN ON RESORT SURVEILLANCE IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Sudiksha Konanki in a Facebook selfie photo. The 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh junior has been missing since March 6, when she vanished during a spring break trip to a five-star resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Sudiksha Konanki/Facebook)
Since her daughter’s murder, Beth Holloway has been advocating on her behalf and said that the disappearance of Konanki, 20, should be a warning for travelers.
“I have created the full-circle safety plan for travelers and citizens of all ages to remind them to spend as much time planning the end of their outing as they do planning where to go, what to wear and who they are going with,” Holloway said.
AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT SUDIKSHA KONANKI’S DISAPPEARANCE IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: TIMELINE
Konanki’s father, Subbarayudu Knanki, called for authorities to widen their investigation.
“It’s four days, and if she was in water, she would likely have been strewn to shore,” he told WTOP-FM. “She’s not found, so we’re asking them to investigate multiple options, like kidnapping or abduction.”
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Authorities have not named any suspects amid their ongoing investigation.
Loudoun County, Virginia Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Thomas Julia told Fox News Digital Tuesday night that 24-year-old Joshua Riibe is a “person of interest” in the college student’s disappearance, but noted it is still a missing persons case, not a criminal case.
In a release on Tuesday, the Dominican National Police said it is “re-interviewing targeted individuals who were in the victim’s proximity at the time of her disappearance.”
“This includes hotel employees where Konanki and her companions were staying, with the goal of gathering information to corroborate her movements, interactions, and any relevant details for the investigation,” they said.
A member of the civil defense canine unit searches on Monday for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, last week. (AP/Francesco Spotorno)
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When asked about a Monday report that Konanki may have drowned, a spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office told Fox News Digital authorities “have heard this and have seen no evidence presented at this time.”
Fox News Digital’s Stepheny Price contributed to this report.
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten is a U.S. Writer at Fox News Digital.
Sarah joined FOX in 2021, where she has assisted on coverage of breaking and major news events across the US and around the world, including the fallout following the “Defund the police” movement, the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump’s life and illegal immigration.
She has experience reporting on topics including crime, politics, business, lifestyle, world news and more. You can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.