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Punta Cana, Dominican Republic – Joshua Riiba, a key witness in a spring vacation The disappearance of the Sudixha KonankiHe successfully claimed on Tuesday at the Dominican Court that his de facto house was at a five -star resort against the local law.
But even though they cleaned him to return to the United States, the Dominican authorities did not return his passport. He could continue to realize his return to court or seek a temporary replacement from the US Embassy.
It is believed that Riibe, 22, is one of the last people who saw Konanki, 20, before she disappeared in the early hours of March 6 from the beach behind their resort, Riu Republic of Punta Cani.
On Tuesday, he successfully claimed that as a witness, not a suspect, police control over his movements during the 11-day period was illegal. The source told Fox News on Wednesday that Riibe checked from Riu Republica’s resort and moved last night.
Joshua Riibe arrives at the Dominican Court of Dominican together with his father Albert Riibe on Tuesday, March 18, 2025. Riibe is a key witness in the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki, an American student who disappeared while swimming on Punta Cana Beach on March 6th. (Fox News Digital)
He is still in the Dominican Republic, the source said, and the investigation indicates accidental drowning, Not a slight play.
Riiba’s family refused to comment.
State Department confirmed on Tuesday that it was providing Consular assistance, but refused to discuss the specifics of the case, citing privacy care.
Witness, not a suspect, Riibe became under strict police surveillance in Rii Republic for 11 days before the judge ruled that the situation had violated the Dominican law.
Sudixha Konanki, 20, from northern Virginia, was first reported disappeared on Thursday, March 6, after disappearing from the beach in the Dominican Republic. (Position, left and defenses civilian Dominican, right.)
“Maintenance at the hotel instead of a police facility does not change legal reality – if it is limited to leaving the country without an official legal basis, it is still a violation of international human rights standards,” said Jason Pack, a retired Special Agent of FBI supervisor -a -ex -leader for children.
“The American State Department usually monitors the cases where American nationals are detained abroad, especially if they seem to be denied the procedure.”
If a US citizen loses his passport to Punta Cana, the US Embassy at Santo Domingo advises that the US Consulate in Bávar offers assistance in an ambulance – and this is in the same office complex as lawyers of Riibe in Guzman Ariz.
The Guzman Ariz’s law firm, one of the largest in the Dominican Republic, has a satellite office in the Altagraction in the same complex as the local US consulate. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
While Pack’s former team focused on the missing and swollen children, he said that the same tactic was applied in the case of a missing adult such as Konanki.
“Ever since my passport was taken, it’s very rare to be alone,” Riibe testified before a Dominican judge Tuesday. He later added, “I can’t go anywhere. I really want to be home. To hug my family and friends.”
Video supervisors show that he and Konanki on March 6th at about 4:15 pm went to the beach with a group, the morning disappeared. Most of them were seen leaving around 6 o’clock in the morning, and Konanki remained on the beach. Riibe returned to herself hours later, and Konanka remained unknown almost two weeks later.
Local authorities are looking for a missing American Sudiksha Student in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on Thursday, March 13, 2025, Konaki, 20, was last seen on the beach in front of the Riu Republica resort with five stars in the Dominican Republic of the Republic of March 6, 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News Digital)
American College Student Disappears in the Dominican Republic: Timeline
According to the missed transcript of the interview with the police, Riibe They told investigators He and Konanki both dragged themselves from the shore with a strong electricity and fought to return it. He last saw him walking in the water deep knee before he vomited and fell asleep in the beach chair.
Her parents, in a letter to the Dominican authorities, requested that she had been declared dead on Monday, citing a lack of evidence of a bad game and Riib’s continuous cooperation with investigators.
Riibe, for his part, agreed to more police interviews, but on Tuesday he expressed frustration at hearing his prison at the resort, where the police monitored him for more than a week, despite the Dominican Law that says he says charged with a crime.
Missing an American student seen in new hotel shots before disappearance
People enjoy the beach at Riu Republik’s resort in Punta Cani, Dominican Republic, Thursday, March 13, 2025. Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was last seen on the beach in front of the Riu Republi resort with five stars in the Dominican Republic on 6 March 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News Digital)
The authorities did not call Riibe suspected and did not accuse him of injustice, but in a hearing that has repeatedly grown into a scream between the plaintiffs and Riib’s lawyers, the government unsuccessfully sought to surpass his constant supervision.
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The judge, aside Riibe, considered his situation illegal.
The judge told him to return to hearing on March 28, but according to one expert, it is a formality, and he doesn’t really have to appear in person.
