The family of missing college student Sudiksha Konanki has asked authorities that she be declared deceased, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia told CBS News, almost two weeks after she disappeared while visiting Punta Cana for spring break.
The family provided the request in writing to the sheriff’s office, according to spokesperson Thomas Julia. Julia said the family made a similar request to Dominican authorities.
The family also expressed gratitude to investigators for their work, and a desire for closure following her disappearance, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office said.
Konanki’s family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Sudiksha Konanki, 20, was last seen in the early morning hours of March 6 on a beach near the resort town’s Riu República hotel where she and her friends and had been staying.
Konanki lives in the D.C. suburb Loudon, Virginia, and attends University of Pittsburgh. Her disappearance sparked a missing persons investigation and massive search effort by authorities in the Dominican Republic and the United States, with agencies probing land, sea and air in hopes of locating her.
Anna Schecter, Andre Tinoco and Manuel Bojorquez contributed reporting.
