Search for Sudiksha Konanki: Missing Pittsburgh student seen at bar in new surveillance video, person of interest's passport confiscated

Monday marks 11 days since Sudiksha Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh student, disappeared while on a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic, prompting a widespread search from both U.S. and local authorities by land, air and water.

The pre-med student was last seen on video surveillance footage on Thursday, March 6, entering the beach before dawn, according to Dominican Republic National Police. The Dominican media outlet Noticias SIN obtained new surveillance video that appears to show Konanki with her friends and two other men.

One of the men, Joshua Riibe, 22, is believed to have been the last person with Konanki on the beach near the Hotel Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana, where she was staying before she vanished.

The newly obtained surveillance footage by Noticias SIN purportedly shows Konanki and Riibe hanging out near each other at a bar just hours before her disappearance. The two never interact in the video. The person who appears to be Konanki leans over a grassy area, seemingly to vomit. Riibe is nearby hunched over the grass, as if to also vomit.

Riibe has been questioned by authorities from various agencies about his final moments on the beach with Konanki to examine possible inconsistencies in his story. Last week he was identified as a "person of interest," the sheriff's office in Loudoun County, Virginia, which is where Konanki is from, said. Authorities also stressed that it is not a criminal case at this time.

NBC News reportedly spotted Riibe with his attorney early Sunday talking to authorities on the beach as he pointed toward the sea. People were kept away from the area by security officials.

Riibe's passport was confiscated on Friday by Dominican authorities as part of the missing person investigation. The law firm representing Riibe said in an email to NBC News that Riibe "has been confined to the hotel since the investigation began. He is permanently escorted by the police anywhere he goes. So no, he is not free to leave."

Friends of the Riibe family released a statement offering their support for the Iowa native. "The Rock Rapids community stands behind and supports Joshua Riibe and his family," the statement said. "The Riibe family moved to town in 2015 and has been active in various school and community events and organizations. They are well known and loved."

The preliminary timeline of Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance

Missing person posters describe Konanki as 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a brown bikini, big round earrings, a metal designer anklet on her right leg, yellow and steel bracelets on her right hand and a multicolored beaded bracelet on her left hand.

March 3: Konanki arrived in the Dominican Republic with five friends. They were all staying at the Hotel Riu Republica in Punta Cana.

March 5: Konanki told her friends that she was going to a party at the resort, her father told CNN.

March 6:

• 4:15 a.m. local time: Konanki and her friends were seen on video surveillance footage entering the beach area of the resort, police said.

• Around 6 a.m.: Surveillance cameras captured five women and one man leaving the beach. Konanki is believed to have stayed behind with a young man, CNN reported, citing a local police source.

• 9:55 a.m.: That same police source said the man was leaving the beach, with no apparent sign of Konanki.

• 4 p.m.: Konanki’s friends reported her missing, since it had been 12 hours since she was last seen, the Riu hotel chain said in a statement. The sheriff’s office in Loudoun County, Va., where she and her family live, was notified of Konanki’s disappearance.

March 7: Police in the Dominican Republic learned of her disappearance after 8 a.m. in a call from the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo.

The Hotel Riu Republica, where Konanki was a guest, told People that a "red flag was placed on the beach" around the time that she vanished. The resort says the red flag provides a warning that "the sea had a strong current and very high waves."

Last week, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issued a yellow notice — a worldwide police alert for a missing person — which will notify authorities if Konanki travels to another country.

Dominican police lead investigation, with help from U.S.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said in a March 9 statement that it is working closely with authorities from the State Department, FBI, DEA, Homeland Security Investigations and the University of Pittsburgh police "in support of the ongoing investigation by the Dominican National Police."

Konanki is a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States, and the Indian Embassy in the Dominican Republic is helping in the investigation.

The hotel where Konanki is staying is also supporting the search efforts. "From the moment her absence was reported, we have been working closely with the local authorities, including the police and the navy, to conduct a thorough search," the hotel said. "We would like to express our deepest sympathy to the family and friends during this incredibly difficult time. … We are fully committed to doing everything in our power to assist in this situation."

What the missing person investigation has found so far

Last week, Dominican authorities moved the search from the hotel, where Konanki was staying, to Macao Beach. Officials at the resort say water conditions were potentially dangerous on the day of her disappearance.

There is no information about whether a body has been found, Regional Red Cross Director Fernando Placeres said Sunday.

Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman said authorities are combing through security footage and cellphone data for any sign of Konanki.

"We have certainly experts here within the U.S. that will look into all aspects of her phone, her friends' phones, anybody that she might have been with, to see exactly what may have happened there," Chapman said.

The sheriff's office doesn't have jurisdiction over the investigation, but sent detectives to help with the U.S. said of the investigation in Punta Cana.

The public prosecutor’s office has also interviewed Konanki’s friends, NBC News reported.