New surveillance video appears to show missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki becoming ill while of a bar during her Dominican Republic spring break trip.
The video, acquired by Noticias SIN, appears to show Konanki with friends at the bar. In the video she leaves the group briefly and bends over, possibly vomiting just outside of the bar. In the top right frame of the video a person who appears to be Joshua Riibe. Riibe 24 is believe to be the last person to see Konanki before she vanished in the early morning hours of March 6.
Riibe also appears to be bent over and possibly sick throughout much of the video. The two are only partially visible. A previous video published by Noticias SIN showed Konanki, Riibe, and their group of friends heading back to the hotel.
Riibe is not considered a suspect in the case and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Fox News reported that Konanki and the group went to the beach around 4:15 a.m. Everyone in the group except Konanki and Riibe returned around 5:55 a.m., based on surveillance footage at the hotel.
CNN reported that Riibe has told police that he and Konanki went swimming, got caught in a big wave, and he helped her to shore.
"The last time I saw her, I asked if she was OK. I didn't hear her answer because I started vomiting up all the seawater I had swallowed. After vomiting, I looked around, and I didn't see anyone. I thought she had grabbed her things and left," Riibe said, according to CNN. "I felt very sick and tired. I lay down on a beach chair and fell asleep because I couldn't go far."
Riibe returned to the hotel around 10 a.m., according to various reports.
Fox News reported that at the time Riibe and Konanki were on the beach, red flag warnings were in effect due to the high waves and precarious swimming conditions.
Konanki is from Loudon County, Virginia, and two deputies from the department traveled to the Dominican Republic as part of the investigation and to participate in Riibe's interviews with authorities.
"I think some of the inconsistencies had to do probably with the language barrier – Spanish to English, English to Spanish – during the initial interviews," Loudon County Sheriff Michael Chapman told CNN. "But I think the interview that was conducted, he seemed to be very forthright with our detectives."
