Beth Holloway, the mother of Natalee Holloway, has spoken out following the disappearance of a 20-year-old college student in the Dominican Republic.
University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konankiwas last seen early on the morning of March 6 on the beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican authorities said.
Konanki, who lived in Loudon County, Va., had been traveling with a group of six female Pittsburgh students.
Natalee Holloway was an 18-year-old from Alabama on a high school graduation trip when she vanished on a beach in Aruba in 2005. It took nearly two decades before Joran van der Sloot admitted to killing her.
In the years since daughter’s death, Natalee’s mother has been an advisor to families whose loved one have gone missing. Beth Holloway spoke to Fox News following Konanki’s disappearance.
“The family is so fortunate to have an American embassy there to work with,” Beth Holloway said in a statement to the outlet. “I did not have that in Aruba.”
ABC News reported that Dominican authorities believe Konanki drowned, though her body has not been recovered.
On Wednesday, March 12, the Loudon County Sheriff’s Office said that it had identified 24-year-old Joshua Riibe as a person of interest in the case.
“He is a person of interest in what is still a missing person investigation,” Loudon County Sheriff’s spokesperson Thomas Julia said in an email statement to us.
Riibe, who could not immediately be reached for comment, has not been accused of any crime.
Dominican outlet El Nacional reported, citing sources, that Konanki’s clothes were found on a chaise lounge on the beach and that there were no signs of violence.
The Loudon County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement “there is no evidence or confirmation of a drowning at this time and the case is being aggressively investigated by U.S. law enforcement working with the Dominican national police, with support from assets here at home.”
Dominican police said the FBI has joined the investigation.
