Last person to see missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki claims he saved her from drowning but failed to answer 8 key police questions

The last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki claimed he saved her from the rough Caribbean waters before losing her in the darkness of night.Minnesota college senior Joshua Riibe, 28, refused to answer several key questions as he described his final moments with Konaki before she vanished in the Dominican Republic eight days ago.“I was a lifesaver.I grabbed her and pulled her out,” Riibe told the Public Ministry, according to a transcript obtained by Dominican Republic’s Noticas Sin.Riibe, who was named a person of interest in the case, had traveled to the RIU Hotel & Resort in Punta Cana for spring break — the same five-star resort where Konanki was staying.The 22-year-old St.

Cloud State University student is believed to be the last person to see Konanki as surveillance footage captured the pair walking arm-in-arm along the beach after 4 a.m.on March 6.They had waded out to waist-deep water where they talked and kissed until the surf became too strong for them.“A big wave came and hit us both and as the water returned it came back and swept us out to sea,” Riibe told investigators.Riibe claimed the duo cried for help when they returned to the surface, but their calls went unanswered as no one was around the beach during their middle-of-the-night escapades.He said that he and Konanki were tired out from swimming in the rough water, but he fought to get them out of the dire situation.He described putting Konanki under his arm and swimming back to the beach, but was met with resistance.“It took me a long time to get her out, it was difficult.

I was a lifeguard in the pool, not in the sea,” he said.The former high school wrestler says he swallowed a lot of sea water during the daring sea rescue.“I could have lost consciousness several times,” Riibe told officials.Riibe said he managed to get the two of them back to a safe spot in the water closer to the beach.He recalled hearing Konanki saying she was going...