The Iowa high school wrestling star who was named as a “person of interest” in the disappearance of University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki has officially been cleared of wrongdoing, a judge in the Dominican Republic said.
The ruling by Judge Edwin Delgado ends the high-profile ordeal for Joshua Riibe, who was detained on the Caribbean island for nearly two weeks after Konanki went missing following a wee-hours swim on March 6 outside an upscale Punta Cana resort, WJLA-TV News reported.
The court hearing Friday, held without Riibe being present, concludes an earlier ruling by Delgado that allowed the 22-year-old St. Cloud State University senior to return home to the Midwest.
Konanki, 20, a pre-med student at Pitt, was on spring break with friends at the RIU Hotel & Resort when she met Riibe at a bar on a night out.
The two went for a swim in the rough surf at the beach at the resort, with Riibe telling police he pulled Konanki to safety before passing out on the beach — but never saw her again.
Dominican authorities never identified Riibe as a suspect or alleged foul play, but he was nonetheless held as a prisoner at a resort on the island and repeatedly grilled by cops, and even the nation’s attorney general.
Konanki’s disappearance sparked a massive search involving more than 300 law enforcement personnel at its height, including agents from the FBI and US Department of Homeland Security as well as deputies from the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Konanki’s hometown in Virginia.
The search for the coed tapered off after her family requested that she be declared dead — with her body never found.
Prior to that court hearing, Konanki’s parents issued a statement asking that Riibe be cleared. They had previously urged Dominican authorities to expand the investigation into their daughter’s disappearance and consider whether she was the victim of a crime.
In an email to The Post after Friday’s ruling, the Dominican law firm of Guzman Ariza, which represented Riibe in the case, noted that the decision simply confirmed Delgado’s March 17 decision.
“The court ordered Mr. Riibe’s immediate release because he was unlawfully detained surpassing the maximum period of 48 hours permitted under the constitution of the Dominican Republic,” the firm said.
“Guzman Ariza remains steadfast in its commitment to defending the rule of law, ensuring nationals and foreign citizens alike can trust in the protection of their fundamental rights in the Dominican Republic.”
