Interpol has issued a yellow alert for University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, who went missing a week ago from a beach in the Dominican Republic.
The alert was posted by the International Criminal Police Organization, known as Interpol.
Konanki, 20, was visiting Punta Cana on spring break last week, when she was reported missing.
She was last seen at the Hotel Riu Republica.
Video surveillance cameras captured her, five other women and two men heading to a nearby beach about 4:15 a.m. on March 6, CNN reported.
When they returned just before 5 a.m., Konanki and one of the men were not in the group, CNN said, citing two sources close to the investigation.
On Wednesday, Joshua Riibe, a U.S. citizen also vacationing there, was identified as a person of interest.
Riibe “may have been the last one to have seen her, so is of particular interest,” Chad Quinn, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office in Loudon County, Va., where Konanki resides, previously told TribLive.
Quinn said the investigation into Konanki’s disappearance is not considered a criminal investigation, and Riibe is not deemed a suspect.
“A number of people have been interviewed by the Dominican National Police with the assistance of the FBI, and this is continuing,” Quinn told TribLive on Wednesday.
Konanki’s father told a radio station he had asked officials to investigate a range of possibilities for his daughter’s disappearance, including that she could have been kidnapped.
The Loudon County sheriff’s office has said that there was a red flag warning indicating rough waters in the area at the time of Konaki’s disappearance.
The Interpol notice was issued by the United States.
The organization uses a color-coded system to send worldwide alerts through its 196 member countries to share information.
Its website notes that the notices are primarily for police use.
A yellow alert, as issued for Konanki, is for missing persons.
Konanki’s notice lists her name, gender, date of birth, place and date of disappearance, distinguishing marks and characteristics and a description.
According to Interpol’s website, there are more than 10,000 yellow notices in circulation.
Categories: Local | Pittsburgh | Top Stories
