The search for a University of Pittsburgh student continues after authorities say she went missing Thursday while on spring break in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was last seen just before 5 a.m. Thursday, March 6, at the Hotel Riu Republica. According to a social media post from Defensa Civil, a Dominican Republic search and rescue force, Konanki was last seen walking on a beach before her disappearance.

“The Orange Search and Rescue Unit, along with other institutions, worked from early Saturday hours, trying to find the whereabouts of the young woman, Sudiksha Konanki, without success,” Defensa Civil’s post said.

The post said crews were to continue the search Sunday morning.

Konanki, from Loudoun County in Northern Virginia, is described as 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes.

The University of Pittsburgh released a statement: “University officials are in contact with Sudiksha Konanki’s family as well as authorities in Loudoun County, Virginia, and we have offered our full support in their efforts to find her and bring her home safely.”

Thomas Julia, director of media relations for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, said the office was contacted Thursday night about Konanki’s disappearance.

Julia said the sheriff’s office confirmed that Konanki was one of six female Pitt students traveling in Punta Cana. At least two members of the group are residents of Loudoun County, he said.

Konanki is also a citizen of India, Julia said in an email.

“The embassy of India in the Dominican Republic has taken the lead working with our State Department and law enforcement on the ground. Our office is supporting those efforts and continuing to investigate locally,” Julia said in an email.

A March 8 article in Dominican Today carried a statement from the Hotel Riu Republica: “We are deeply concerned about the disappearance of one of our guests, who has not been seen since the early hours of [Thursday] morning. From the moment this absence was reported we have been working closely with local authorities, including the Police and Navy, to carry out a thorough search.”

According to Konanki’s LinkedIn profile, she graduated in 2022 from Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology where she earned a diploma in biological sciences. Thomas Jefferson was ranked the No. 1 high school in America in 2021 and 2022 by U.S. News & World Report.

Anyone with information about Konanki’s whereabouts is asked to call the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office at 703-777-1021.

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