Person of interest in sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance breaks his silence

Joshua Riibe speaks for the first time since he was named a person of interest In the disappearance of the college student Sudiksha Konanki.

Riibe, a 22-year-old American tourist who may have been the last person who saw the University of Pittsburgh Junior before she disappeared In the Dominican Republic on March 6, his silence broke the disappearance in a brief interview with NBC News Published on Saturday, March 15.

When he spoke to the outlet from Riu Republica, Punta Cana Resort where both he and Konanki stopped before her disappearance, Riibe said, “I just try to help them,” seemingly referred to those involved in the search.

“The sea is a dangerous place,” he added per outlet.

Riibe, senior at Minnesota’s St. Cloud State University, has been “limited” to the resort since the investigation of Konanki’s disappearance began, his law firm NBC News said on March 15.

“He is permanently escorted by the police anywhere he goes,” the law firm said, leaving that “he is not free to leave.”

Riibe, who has not been accused of or accused of any crime, was appointed to a “person of interest” At the sheriff’s office in Loudoun County, va., Where Konanki lives, people confirmed last week. In the meantime, Dominican authorities have not publicly appointed him to a person of interest.

It has not been confirmed by law enforcement officials if Riibe was the last person who saw Konanki, but he told the authorities on March 12 that the couple spent time on the beach “kisses” before she disappeared, according to an interview printing obtained by NBC News.

Riibe told the local investigators that he and the university junior were “in waist depth water, talked and kissed a little”, when a wave crashed, they both “swept to the sea”, according to a transcript obtained by the outlet. “I kept trying to get her to breathe, but it didn’t allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water,” he remembered.

A former lifeguard, Riibe also told the investigators that he got himself and Konanki back to the beach safely and was surprised to know Konanki was later missing.

“The last time I saw her I asked if she was okay. I didn’t hear her answer, “he said Per NBC News.” I looked around and saw no one. I thought she had grabbed her and left. ”

A source at the Prosecutor’s Office told People that Riibe’s story changed during four interrogations with local law enforcement officials. (The source did not specify how his recollection changed.)

St. However, Cloud State Senior claimed that he first met Konanki at Riu Republica, and that they had “partyed” with a group of friends, according to a source.

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Riibe’s family told the local outlet earlier Wtae That their son is “deeply disturbed by” Konanki’s disappearance “and has collaborated entirely in the search and clarification of facts from the beginning.”

The Konanki family told me in the meantime USA today that they “go through an extremely difficult time” and “are deeply sad.”

“We request friendly integrity when we handle this challenging moment together,” the family spent.

Konanki was part of a group at six female universities in Pittsburgh students traveling for Spring Break this month. They later reported that Konanki was missing when she never returned from the beach on March 6. After her disappearance, the Dominican national police said that an “exhaustive search was launched at sea, air and country”, to no avail.

A source near the investigation said that Konanki’s clothing was discovered in a chaise lounge on the beach. Dominican authorities believe that Konanki drowned, per previous report from ABC NewsAlthough her body has not been recovered.