The Iowa College student linked to the disappearance of the spring breaker Sudiksha Konanki has broken his silence as more details about his personal life appear.
Joshua Riibe, 24, was the last person who was seen at the 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh Junior before she was missing in the early hours of 6 March in the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana.
Since Konanki disappeared, Riibe has been central to the chaotic cause and had his passport confiscated, so that he had to stay under strict supervision in the Dominican Republic.
On Sunday morning, Riibe was noticed with researchers, his lawyer and his father as the person of interest on the sea, NBC reported.
“I just try to help them,” Riibe told the outlet. “The ocean is a dangerous place.”
Riibe told the police conflicting versions of what happened after they had seen the beach, but this week he gave more insight into an interview with researchers.
The former wrestler said he and Konanki 'in waist-deep water, talking and kissing', according to a transcript from Riibe's discussion with the police obtained by NBC.
This is after his uncle Richard has revealed DailyMail.com that Riibe has a girlfriend at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, where he also goes to school.
Joshua Riibe, 24, was the last person who was seen at the 20-year-old University of Pittsburg Junior before she was missing in Punta Cana in the early hours of 6 March
Sudiksha Konanki was on a spring break with a few of her friends when she disappeared
Riibe was recorded on surveillance video with Konanki and a group of her friends who walked to the beach in Punta Cana around 6 March on March 6
He then claimed that a wave crashed and they both visited at the sea.
“I kept trying to let her breathe, but that didn't allow me to always breathe, and I swallowed a lot of water,” he said, adding that he was a lifeguard.
Riibe, contrary to what he stated earlier, claimed that he could bring Konanki to safety before she was actually missing.
'When I finally reached the ground on the beach, I held her in front of me. She was not out of the water, she was knee-deep and walked out of the water under a corner, “he explained.
'The last time I saw her, I asked if she was doing well. I didn't hear her answer because I started with all the water I had swallowed. After vomiting I looked around. I haven't seen anyone. I thought she had taken her things and left. '
He refused to answer a few questions, where officers brought him up about how they could be sure what he said was truthful.
Riibe was asked what he told his good friend about Konanki and what he thought of her disappearance.
Researchers also wondered if he knew if Konanki was able to swim, whether she gestured or cried in the sea, when he called the police or told the hotel, whether he had told his friends about what happened and how he felt about the situation.
He said to all those questions: “My lawyers advise me not to answer that question and I follow their advice,” before I remain silent.
The former wrestler has told different, somewhat different versions of what happened the last time Konanki was seen
The Med -Student from Virginia was last seen with Riibe, with whom she was alone on the beach after her friends left
Riibe was recorded on security video with Konanki and a group of her friends who walked to the beach around March 4 in Punta Cana around March 4.
Her friends left two hours later to go back to their room, leaving Riibe and the Med -Student alone on the beach.
In one of Riibe's retelling of the incident, Riibe said that he and Konanki went into the sea and were swept away by a wave.
He also said he felt sick, so stepped out of the water and went back to his hotel room. Riibe also said he fell asleep on the beach.
The other story that Riibe reportedly said that the authorities was that he saw Konanki walking along the beach with the water on her knees in the direction of where she left her cover on a lounge chair.
Riibe's family explained the conflicting reports as the result of another translator who was present at each of the three police interviews.
Riibe was caught on the camera that returned to his room at 9.55 am and without his shirt. He told the researchers that he was stunned to hear that Konaki was missing.
Her disappearance has stunned researchers in the Dominican Republic, who believe she was probably drowned
Riibe was seen with law enforcement on the beach next to the Riu Republica Hotel in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic last Monday
The Sheriff's Office of Loudon County in Virginia, where Konaki comes from, has mentioned Riibe as a person important, but at the moment there are no suspects in the investigation.
Despite the fact that he “limited to the hotel since the investigation,” Riibe's lawyer told NBC, the US concerned the mysterious situation of Konanki as a case of a missing persons, not a criminal.
Researchers in the Dominican Republic said they believe they drowned, and although they have interviewed Riibe, they did not say that he will be suspected of any crime.
