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Multiple search and rescue groups are continuing to search for a student from the University of Pittsburgh who went missing during a spring break trip Thursday.


WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR ABOUT THE SITUATION



Multiple posts on social media have shown officials in the Dominican Republic searching for 20-year-old Sudiksha Konanki, who was last seen on video surveillance on March 6 at 4:50 a.m. on the beach at Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana.

Officials from Konanki's state of residency believe five other people traveled to the resort during Pitt's spring break, which started on March 2.


"We now believe there were six female students of the University of Pittsburgh traveling to Punta Cana,” Thomas Julia of the Loudon County Sheriff's Office in Virginia said. “At least two of whom, including the missing person, are residents of Loudoun County.”

Julia also said the missing student is also a citizen of India.

“So the embassy of India in the Dominican Republic has taken the lead on the ground, working with our State Department and local law enforcement there," Julia said.

The FBI has since been briefed on the situation, Julia said.

Several agencies are also involved in the search — including civil defense, firefighters, the national police and the Dominican Navy.

Konanki's parents have traveled from Virginia to the Dominican Republic to help in the search.

As of Sunday evening, three Dominican officials tell ABC News the Pitt student may have died by drowning after she went for a swim and was caught by a big wave.

WHO IS SUDIKSHA KONANKI?



Konanki is currently a junior at the University of Pittsburgh. According to Pitt's website, she is said to be studying biological sciences and chemistry. The website did not list an official declaration of her major.

According to her LinkedIn profile, she graduated in 2022 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, where she earned a diploma in biological sciences.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Thomas Jefferson as the No. 1 high school in America in 2021 and 2022.


HOW YOU CAN HELP IN THE SEARCH



Anyone with information is urged to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office at 703-777-1021.

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