LOUDOUN COUNTY, Va. — An exhaustive search for Sudiksha Konanki, 20, is now in its fourth day.
The Virginia resident and University of Pittsburgh student was reported missing after traveling to the Dominican Republic with five friends last week.
Authorities say she disappeared in the early hours of March 6 when was last seen around 4:15 a.m. entering the beach with friends at the Rio Hotel, where she was staying in Punta Cana.
Konanki is from Loudoun County, where Sheriff Michael Chapman is working alongside Dominican officials and U.S. Authorities, including the U.S. State Department and the FBI.
“She did not return with the other friends and so it was at that point that she was reported missing to the Dominican authorities and I think they wanted to do a little background work before they actually did a full fledged search and I know since that time, they’ve been using helicopters, they’ve been using drones, they’ve had boats out," Chapman said.
Dominican authorities believe Konanki may have died by drowning.
Shekhar Pendem, a family friend, tells our affiliate station WUSA that they hope other leads are investigated.
“She’s been missing for four days so everybody is so worried," Pendem said.
On Sunday, Konanki's father told WTOP Radio that he’s filed a complaint to widen the probe to include possible kidnapping or abduction.
“We are just expecting if they can do beyond that and investigate any other possible angles. That will be really helpful," Pendem said.
“We are not ruling anything out. We really don’t know and it would be improper to speculate at this point and we’re doing everything we can. I know Dominican authorities, you have the Coast Guard; you have the Dominican National Police working in unison to try to get to the bottom of this," Chapman said.
The Dominican Republic is a popular spring break destination for students.
Chapman says it’s wise to make sure parents pay attention to any state department warnings and establish communication with their children before planned trips.
“It’s important that they do that because you never know what can happen and it’s important to take these extra precautions," he said. "It’s also important when you’re traveling as a group for parents to know not only your own child’s phone number but numbers of others there in case something happens. Making sure that people are looking out for each other.”
Investigators are asking for a worldwide police report to be issued during the ongoing search.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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