Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old legal permanent resident of the United States and Indian national, was reported missing after travelling to the Dominican Republic last week. She had gone with friends while on their spring break and was last seen on March 6 on the beach of the Riu Republica Hotel in Punta Cana. 

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Amid an extensive search, ABC News on Sunday (Mar 9) reported citing officials that a University of Pittsburgh student who was reported missing in the Dominican Republic is believed to have died by drowning. 

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Dominican Republic authorities earlier said that Konanki went missing while "walking the beach". She was seen or heard from since then, they added. 

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"Our office was contacted on Thursday evening about a missing female from Loudoun County who was with a group of other people travelling in the Dominican Republic, Punta Cana specifically," a Loudoun County Sheriff's Office spokesperson said Saturday. 

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What do we know about Konanki and her disappearance? 

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In a statement released in Spanish, the Dominican National Police said Konanki disappeared at 4:15 am Thursday local time. They added that the surveillance cameras metres from the beach showed her with a group of other young adults. 

Konanki's father, Subbarayudu Konanki, had told CNN that her daughter told her friends on Wednesday that she was heading to a party at the resort. 

"She went to the beach on March 6 early morning around 4 am with friends and some other guys they met at the resort. After that, her friends came back after some time, and my daughter did not come back, did not show up from the beach," her father said, further adding that her friends alerted authorities when she wasn't in her room the following morning. 

In missing posters, Sudiksha was described as an Indian national from Chantilly, Virginia, five feet three inches in height, with black hair and brown eyes. 

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She was seen with a young man: Report

Media reports have mentioned that a "young man" who went swimming with University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha before she vanished from a Punta Cana beach is being questioned by investigators. 

Dominican Republic outlet Listin Diario reported that she and the man were seen swimming together at the beach near Riu Republica Resort sometime before she was last spotted there going for a walk in a brown swim attire. 

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What happened to her? 

She is believed to be dead. A Dominican Republic investigative police report revealed that at some point, most of the group went back to the hotel during the night, but one person stayed with her on the beach. 

She and this person went for a swim and were caught by a big wave, the police report said, per ABC. 

Her father, Subbarayudu, said earlier he wants local authorities to broaden their investigation. 

"They're only looking in the water, but I want them to also investigate other possibilities including whether this is a case of kidnapping or human trafficking," he told CNN. 

"We don't think she would be able to survive for more than three days in the water and I think something else might’ve happened to her," he added. 

(With inputs from agencies)