American college student Joshua Riibe is fighting to get back his passport after leaving Dominican Republic resort where US pre-med student Sudiksha Konanki went missing

Riibe, 22, once identified as a “person of interest” in the 20-year-old student’s mysterious disappearance on March 6, being the last person who saw her

On Tuesday a Dominican judge ruled that he was “free to leave” after being under constant police surveillance and being confined to the resort

On Tuesday, a local judge ruled that Joshua Riibe, [photo], formerly a person of interest in the disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki, was “free to leave” after being under constant police surveillance and being confined to the resort in the Dominican Republic

Thirteen days after 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student, Sudiksha Konanki, went missing at an upscale Dominican Republic resort, while on Spring Break, Joshua Riibe, the only person questioned in the incident has been let off, although he is still fighting to get his passport back so he can come home to the US, according to reports.
Riibe, 22, once identified as a ‘person of interest’ in the pre-med student’s mysterious disappearance on March 6, is now staying elsewhere on the Caribbean nation, one day after Dominican Judge Edwin Delgado’s ruled that he was “free to leave” after being under constant police surveillance.

Pittsburgh University student, Sudiksha Konanki, [photo], 20, was on spring break with friends in the Dominican Republic when she went missing on March 6, while staying at the RIU Hotel & Resort in Punta Cana

Joshua Riibe, [center], was flagged because he was the last person to see missing Sudiksha Konaki alive in the Dominican Republic. He was confined, although he was neither detained or arrested

Delgado granted Riibe’s request to be rid of police surveillance, because he has not been charged with wrongdoing, but the judge fell short of ordering that his passport be returned, according to new reports.
His lawyers reportedly, are now fighting to get his passport back. As backup, they have also petitioned officials at the US embassy in the Dominican Republic for a new new passport.

Sudiksha Konanki was seen with Joshua Riibe and her friends before she went missing during spring break in March

Joshua Riibe and Sudiksha Konanki were last seen together on March 6, leaving for a late night swim from the RIU Hotel & Resort in Punta Cana, a popular vacation spot for tourists and spring breakers in the Dominican Republic

The embassy has said in recent days that it was working to assist Riibe and his family.
Meanwhile, Noticias SIN also reported that the search for Konanki, a pre-med student at the University of Pittsburgh who disappeared during a spring break trip, has been scaled back.
Police said Konanki and Riibe were swimming at the resort’s beach after partying at the hotel bar in the early morning hours of March 6, when they encountered rough surf at the Punta Cana tourist spot.
Riibe told authorities he pulled Konanki to safety, asked if she was okay, then passed out on the beach.

The disappearance of Sudiksha Konanki sparked a massive search in the Dominican Republic, by a multi-national team, lasting almost two weeks, but she has never been found. Her companion, Joshua Riibe, claims she drowned

The next day Konanki’s friends reported her missing, launching a massive search that has lasted nearly two weeks and has included local law enforcement personnel as well as representatives from the FBI, US Department of Homeland Security and the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in the Konanki’s hometown.
Dominican authorities did not rule out foul play and identified Riibe as a person of interest in the case, seizing his passport and confiscating his phone while keeping him under constant surveillance.
At Tuesday’s court hearing, lawyers for the government claimed he was never a suspect but rather an important witness, and denied he was “in custody,” a position his lawyers are contesting.

A day before the hearing Sudiksha parents, SreeDevi and Subbarayudu Konanki [photo], who are convinced she drowned during spring break,asked Dominican authorities to declare their daughter legally dead and to release Riibe

Konanki’s grieving parents SreeDevi and Subbarayudu Konanki Monday filed a letter with authorities in the Dominican Republic asking that their 20-year-old daughter be declared legally dead 12 days after she disappeared from a Punta Cana beach.
The missing girl’s parents had also requested that Joshua Riibe be released.
Riibe’s lawyer filed a writ of ‘habeas corpus’ on Monday demanding that he be allowed to return to the US because he has not been charged with wrongdoing.
The court hearing on that request took place a day after, on Tuesday, with both Joshua and his father Albert Riibe taking the stand.
‘I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been 10 days,’ Riibe testified, adding ‘I want to go home. I want to see my family.’
Changing the the family’s previous stance, Subbarayudu Konanki, said, ‘Both sides of the authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides of the authorities have clarified the person of interest was not a suspect from the beginning.’
‘It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned,’ he said.