Missing Indian-origin student's last video shows her walking towards beach with male companion

Sudiksha Konanki, 21, who went missing in the Dominican Republic tourist town of Punta Cana, was last seen walking out of her hotel towards the beach early in the morning.

A new surveillance video captured by cameras on the Riu Republica Hotel premises shows Konanki walking out of the hotel with a group of friends at 4:15 a.m. on March 6, the day she disappeared.

She was accompanied by a male person right by her side, while two other females walked behind. Earlier, in another video, Konanki was seen drinking with seven others at the hotel lobby, CNN quoted a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation as saying.

Sudiksha Konanki is a citizen of India and a permanent resident of the United States. A student at the University of Pittsburgh, Konanki was vacationing with five female college friends at a resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, when she went missing on March 6, the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Monday.

The Loudoun County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) said it continues to assist and support the US federal law enforcement agencies working with the Dominican National Police and others to determine Konanki's whereabouts and what may have happened to her. Konanki was on a spring break trip in Punta Cana.

The police have found no evidence of violence, according to sources. The ABC News report said that after going to a nightclub on March 5 night, Konanki and a group of people went to the beach about 4 a.m. local time on March 6.

The report quotes sources as saying that the other women traveling with Konanki returned to their hotel about 5:55 a.m., with security cameras capturing their return to their rooms. "A man stayed behind with Konanki on the beach," according to a Dominican Republic investigative police report.

"The man, whose name was not released, told police that he and Konanki went for a swim and got caught by a big wave," the police report said. "She's not found, so we're asking them to investigate multiple options, like kidnapping or abduction."

Subbarayudu Konanki and his wife Sreedevi flew to Punta Cana with two family friends after learning of their daughter's disappearance. He on Sunday filed a record of complaint asking authorities to widen the investigation as her belongings, including her phone and wallet, were left with her friends, "which is unusual because she always carried her phone with her."

with PTI inputs