Punta Cana, Dominican Republic — The man who last saw missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki told investigators that he tried to rescue her from the water, but thought she was okay and “grabbed her things and left.”
Authorities told ABC News that 20-year-old Konanki, who went missing while on spring break in Punta Cana, is believed to have drowned.
Three Dominican Republic officials involved in the investigation told ABC News that on March 5, Konanki was part of a group that went to a nightclub and then walked on the beach. Most of the group returned to the hotel around 5:55 a.m., but one man, 24-year-old Joshua Liebe, stayed at the beach with Konanki and two went swimming, according to a Dominican Republic investigative police report.
Liebe, who met Konanke that night, told prosecutors Thursday that she confirmed that she kissed him after a night of drinking, according to documents provided to ABC News by two sources in the Dominican Republic.
“A big wave came and hit us both, and then the tide pulled us into the sea,” he told prosecutors. “When I surfaced, I tried to call for help, but there was no one there.”
“I held her under my arm and swam out of the water,” said Liebe, a pool lifeguard.
“I was trying to make sure she could breathe the whole time and it kept me from breathing and I took a lot of water,” he explained.
“When we finally touched the sand, I put her in front of me, and the sea moved us, so she got up and went to get her things,” Liebe told prosecutors. “She wasn’t getting out of the water because the water was up to her knees. She was walking diagonally in the water.”
“The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was okay. I couldn’t hear her reply because she started vomiting up all the water she had swallowed,” he said. “After she vomited, I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I thought she had taken her things and left.”
“After I saw her walk away, wading through the water, I never saw her again,” he said.
Liebe said he passed out on a beach chair and woke up to sunlight and the presence of mosquitoes. Surveillance camera footage showed the man returning to the room several hours later.
Authorities said Liebe is not a suspect and is cooperating. However, prosecutors said they were “conducting multiple stages of the investigation beyond the possibility of a random event.”
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