"All necessary actions are taken" - RIU hotels express condolence over guest Sudiksha Konanki's disappearance during spring break holiday

RIU Hotels is expressing its condolences over the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki from one of its hotels in the Dominican Republic.

Sudiksha Konanki, an Indian American tourist from Virginia, has been missing since Thursday, March 6. She was last seen in the morning when she went for a walk with five others. At that time, she was staying at the Riu República hotel in Arena Gorda. The hotel chain has since released a statement indicating they are cooperating with the authorities to determine her whereabouts.

“At Riu Hotels we are deeply concerned about the disappearance of one of our guests, who has not been seen since the early hours of this morning. From the moment his absence was reported we have been working closely with local authorities, including the Police and Navy, to carry out a thorough search,” the hotel chain said in its statement.

They also asserted that a search and emergency protocol have been enacted to ensure that "all necessary actions are taken," while an internal communication channel is being used in case any employee from one of the five hotels in the Punta Cana destination receives any pertinent information that they can share with the hotel or the authorities.

“We want to express our sincerest empathy towards the family and friends during this very difficult time. The safety and wellbeing of our guests are our highest priority, and we are committed to doing everything possible to assist in this situation,” the statement said.

The disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki explored: Everything we know so far

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, is a student at the University of Pittsburgh. According to CNN, she is believed to have been last seen with an unknown young man. Surveillance footage shows her with seven other people walking to the beach at the Riu República Hotel in Punta Cana just after 4.15 a.m. Thursday.

Per the outlet, police have confirmed she came to the country on Monday alongside five others, all of whom were from the same university. They were informed of her disappearance at 8 a.m. on Friday via a call from the US Embassy in Santo Domingo.

Furthermore, just before 6 am on the day of her disappearance, footage shows the five women and one man leaving the beach. Sudiksha Konanki is believed to have stayed back with the man. The surveillance footage from 9:55 a.m. shows the man leaving the beach without Konanki. Her father described him as someone "they met at the resort," according to The Week.

At the time, Sudiksha Konanki, who is "5 feet 3 inches tall with black hair and brown eyes," was clad in a brown bikini, large hoop earrings, a metal anklet on her right leg, and colored bracelets on both hands.

The Indian Embassy in the Dominican Republic has affirmed that it is working with local police to find the missing student and is in touch with her parents.

“The embassy of India in the DR has taken the lead working with our state department and law-enforcement on the ground. Our office is supporting those efforts and continuing to investigate locally,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement to CNN.

Subbarayudu Konanki, Sudiksha Konanki's father, told CNN that his daughter flew to Punta Cana for spring break:

“My daughter is a very nice girl. She’s ambitious. She wanted to pursue a career in medicine," he said, adding that she wants to be a doctor. “She went to the beach on March 6 early morning around 4 a.m. with friends and some other guys they met at the resort. After that, her friends came back after some time and my daughter did not come back, did not show up from the beach,” her father said.

He added,

So far, the authorities—multiple authorities here in the Dominican Republic—have searched the waters. They searched using helicopters and other tools. They also searched the nearby bay, bushes, and trees. They went multiple times around the same areas.

Sudiksha Konanki has been living in the United States since 2006, and she and her family are permanent residents.

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