Punta Cana, Dominican Republic – The American Joshua Libe’s passport in connection with the disappearance of a student at the University of Pittsburgh has been confiscated by Dominican authorities as part of an ongoing investigation, his lawyer told NBC News.
Libe may have been the last person to see Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh junior, who went to Punta Cana with five female friends for spring break on March 3rd. She was last seen on March 6th around 4:15am after going to the beach with a friend.
Speaking briefly to NBC News at the resort where Conanki was staying before his loss of disappearance, Libe said, “I’m just trying to help them,” adding, “The ocean is a dangerous place.”
“Since the investigation began, he has been confined to hotels. He has been escorted by police everywhere forever. The law firm that represents him told NBC News via email on Saturday.
The Dominican Republic National Police did not immediately respond to NBC News’ requests for comment.
In an interview with local investigators this week, Riibe said she was on the beach with Conanki just before she disappeared.
According to a transcript of an interview obtained by NBC News, he said he was “in the deep waters of his hips, talking a little and kissing him.” The waves crashed and both “out into the sea.”
“I kept trying to make her breath, but it didn’t allow me to breathe all the time, and I swallowed a lot of water,” he said, telling investigators that he was working as a lifeguard.
Libe said she returned Conanki to the shore before she went missing.
“The last time I saw her, I asked if she was okay. I didn’t hear her answer,” he said. “I looked around and saw no one. I thought she grabbed hers and left.”
He told Dominican Republic authorities that he was shocked to find out later that she was missing.
The sheriff’s office in Loudoun County, Virginia, where Conanki is originally from and whose family lives, describes Libe as “an interested person.” The Sheriff’s Office has no jurisdiction over the investigation, but it sent detectives to Punta Cana to assist the US side of the investigation.
Dominican Republic officials said Thursday they did not use the term “person of interest” in the incident. At this point, no one is considered a suspect.
US authorities say this is a case of a missing person and not a criminal matter.
Libe, 22, from Rock Rapids, Iowa, is a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.
