A 22-year-old college student named Joshua Riibe was with University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki the night she went missing while on spring break in the Dominican Republic. A source in local law enforcement says he will return to the United States on Wednesday evening or Thursday morning.
A source said that Riibe got an emergency travel document from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic, which was then accepted by the government as proof of his intention to leave the country.
Riibe, who is only a witness to Konanki’s absence and not a suspect, had his passport and cell phone taken away while he was being questioned by police over the last few days.
A source in the prosecutor’s office had said earlier on Wednesday that Riibe would get his passport back on Thursday, so the news that he was going back right away was a surprise.
Riibe’s lawyers told ABC News earlier that they were working with the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic to get him a new U.S. visa so he could leave the country.
ABC News was told by the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic that they are in touch with Mr. Riibe, his family, and his lawyer and are giving him all the necessary legal help.
There was a habeus corpus meeting in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday. The judge said that Riibe can move around the country without being watched by the police because he is only a witness to an accident and not a suspect. But the judge wouldn’t give Riibe his passport back because he said it wasn’t in his power to do so. It wasn’t clear from the judge who has the right to return the passport.
“I have no where to go. Riibe said in court on Tuesday, “I really want to be able to go home, talk to my family, hug them, and tell them I miss them.” “I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been 10 days and I can’t leave.”
The State Department said on Wednesday that they are “aware of the situation” and that they are “taking seriously our commitment to assist U.S. citizens abroad.”
“The safety and security of U.S. citizens who are traveling abroad is the most important thing.” “That’s important to us,” said a spokeswoman, Tammy Bruce. “[Riibe’s case] is a situation where I can’t discuss certainly specifics, but we know that the U.S. Embassy is in communication with him and his family and his lawyer, and we are providing consular assistance as well.”
He told the judge on Tuesday that he is “ready to go home and go back to my life.”
Authorities say they think Konanki drowned in Punta Cana early on March 6. They told ABC News this.
Riibe, who met Konanki that night, told the police that they kissed and went swimming together in the ocean. A report from two sources in the Dominican Republic given to ABC News says that the two were then hit by a wave and pushed into the water by the tide.
He told Konanki that he held him and tried to get them out of the water. “Make sure she could breathe the whole time,” he said. This meant that Riibe didn’t get enough air, and he “took in a lot of water.”
Iibe told the prosecutors that Konanki got up to get her things once they hit the sand, but “she was not out of the water since it was up to her knee” and was “walking at an angle in the water.”
He told the police, “The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK.” “I passed out from all the water I had swallowed, so I didn’t hear her answer.” That’s when I looked around and didn’t see anything. I believed she had left with her things.
Riibe said he then fell asleep in a beach chair. He woke up a few hours later and went back to his hotel room.
Two people who are familiar with the case say that Konanki’s family formally asked Dominican police on Monday to declare their daughter dead.
Tuesday night, the Dominican Republic’s Civil Defense said they are reducing the search-and-rescue operations by a large amount.
At a full hearing on March 28, the judge will decide if Riibe will be charged with anything.
