A man who might've been the last person to see a missing University of Pittsburgh student in the Dominican Republic said he rescued her from drowning — only for her to vanish a short time later, according to a transcript of an interview he gave local authorities.
Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old junior, went to Punta Cana on March 3 with five female friends for spring break. She was last seen around 4:15 a.m. March 6 after going to the beach with friends.
The man, who officials in Konanki's home state of Virginia called a "person of interest," told local investigators that he and Konanki were on the beach "in waist-deep water, talking and kissing a little," according to a transcript of an interview he gave local authorities that NBC News obtained.
That's when a wave crashed and swept them both "out to sea," the man said in the March 12 interview.
"I kept trying to get her to breathe, but that didn’t allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water," he said.
Investigators have not described the man as a suspect.
The man told investigators he previously worked as a lifeguard and got himself and Konanki back to shore before she went missing.
"The last time I saw her, I asked if she was OK. I didn’t hear her answer," he said. "I looked around and didn’t see anyone. I thought she’d grabbed her things and left."
He told Dominican authorities that he was surprised to later learn Konanki was missing.
Konanki, from the Washington, D.C., suburb of Chantilly, Virginia, is a biology student at Pitt, and her disappearance has drawn the interest of authorities back home.
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, where Konanki’s family resides, has no jurisdiction over the case but has sent detectives to Punta Cana to assist with the U.S. side of the investigation, and has described the man interviewed as a "person of interest."
Dominican authorities said Thursday they do not use the term “person of interest” in the case, and no one is considered a suspect at this point. U.S. authorities say this is a missing person’s case and not a criminal matter.
A Loudoun County sheriff's spokesperson told NBC News on Friday the department investigators spoke to the man — Joshua Riibe — on Thursday, the day after local authorities interviewed him.
Riibe's father and attorney accompanied him during the "extensive interview" and the man was "cooperative," officials said.
In a statement Friday, Riibe's parents, Tina and Albert Riibe, expressed their "deep sorrow and solidarity" with Konanki's family.
"Above all, we wish to contribute to the search efforts and understand the anguish and uncertainty they are going through and we share the hope that Sudiksha will be found as soon as possible," they said in the statement.
Joshua Riibe, a 22-year-old native of Rock Rapids, Iowa, is a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, studying land survey and mapping sciences.
Even through he's not a suspect, he's being confined to his hotel room, according to the Riibe family.
"We recognize that this is a complex and painful situation for all parties involved, and we trust that the investigation will be conducted with transparency and justice," Tina and Albert Riibe said. "Our only interest is that due process be respected and that actions be taken with the fairness that the situation requires."
