Hotel horror stories emerge after American college student goes missing as resort insists no connection

The Dominican Republic edifice wherever University of Pittsburgh pupil Sudiksha Konanki went missing past week experienced a lengthy powerfulness outage conscionable hours earlier Konanki vanished, the edifice institution and guests told Fox News Digital.

Konanki, a 20-year-old Virginia resident, was seen for the past clip aft 4 a.m. connected March 6, seemingly walking connected the formation extracurricular the RIU Republica Resort successful Punta Cana, according to authorities and a flyer being circulated online.

Less than 2 hours earlier the University of Pittsburgh pupil disappeared, powerfulness was restored astatine the five-star, adults-only RIU Republica, wherever she was staying with 5 pistillate friends, pursuing an astir 22-hour outage.

"[T]he electrical contented started connected Wednesday [March] 5 astatine 1 AM. But the aforesaid was solved connected Thursday [March] 6 astatine 3 AM, truthful erstwhile the guests went to the formation past 4 AM, the energy had already recovered hours ago. So 1 happening has thing to bash with the other," RIU Hotels told Fox News Digital successful a statement, presumably referring to Konanki's disappearance and the outage.

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The formation country astatine the Riu Republica Resort successful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Courtesy D'Lani Sweeney)

The Dominican Republic, which is presently nether a State Department Level 2 question advisory and shares a borderline with Level 4 Haiti, experiences astir regular blackouts successful definite areas that tin past for much than 10 hours, according to the OPEC Fund for International Development.

"Our committedness to the well-being and comfortableness of our guests is our priority, truthful we profoundly regret the powerfulness nonaccomplishment that affected the Riu Republica Hotel past week," RIU Hotels said. "From the infinitesimal the occupation was detected, successful the aboriginal hours of Wednesday, March 5, until it was wholly resolved successful the aboriginal hours of Thursday, March 6, the edifice squad worked tirelessly to resoluteness the occupation rapidly and frankincense reconstruct each services, which happened progressively during that play of time."

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Sudiksha Konanki successful a Facebook selfie photo. The 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh inferior has been missing since March 6, erstwhile she vanished during a outpouring interruption travel to a five-star edifice successful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Sudiksha Konanki/Facebook)

The edifice genitor institution added that members of the RIU Republica's unit "have been doing their champion to mitigate the inconveniences generated by this situation. 

"Despite this, we are alert of the inconvenience that this lawsuit generated for the affected guests. For this reason, RIU has established a compensation argumentation that volition use to each those customers who process their assertion done authoritative channels, either straight with RIU Hotels oregon with the question supplier with whom they made their reservation," RIU Hotels said.

AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT MISSING IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC DIDN’T DROWN, NATALEE HOLLOWAY PRIVATE EYE BELIEVES 

A walkway astatine the RIU Republica edifice successful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Courtesy D'Lani Sweeney)

Konanki was reportedly walking with a young antheral conscionable earlier she vanished, La Policia Nacional, the country’s nationalist constabulary force, said successful a translated statement.

Several guests who spoke with Fox News Digital expressed their concerns with the powerfulness and h2o outage, arsenic good arsenic different information concerns astatine the RIU Republica. Various caller Google reviews besides kick astir powerfulness and h2o issues.

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Military unit hunt for Sudiksha Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh pupil from the U.S. who disappeared connected a formation successful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, Monday, March 10, 2025.  (AP Photo/Francesco Spotorno)

"I recognize it’s outpouring break, but this is terrible," Nick Musca said. "The h2o doesn’t work. There was nary powerfulness yesterday. This is terrible."

D'Lani Sweeney described her enactment astatine the RIU Republica arsenic "the outpouring interruption travel from Hell" connected TikTok but noted that astir unit members were precise accommodating and tried to marque guests comfy erstwhile problems arose.

"The nighttime that she did vanish was the nighttime that everything was benignant of going connected and was truthful chaotic."

"People were staying retired aboriginal by the pools oregon connected the formation due to the fact that they had nary AC successful their rooms," Sweeney told Fox News Digital. "It was truthful hot, and that's benignant of the lone mode they could chill down oregon person immoderate … relaxation astatine all. It conscionable makes maine a small spot huffy and besides … sad."

Sweeney described utilizing bottled h2o to brushwood her teeth successful her edifice country and utilizing outlets successful the hotel's lobby oregon gym to complaint her phone. Due to the powerfulness outage, determination was nary Wi-Fi work successful definite areas of the resort. People without planetary telephone plans who were utilizing Wi-Fi to interaction radical overseas had occupation connecting with friends oregon household to explicate the situation, she said.

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Sudiksha Konanki, 20, disappeared successful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Handout, left, and Defensa Civil Dominicana, right.)

Additionally, the edifice had reddish flags connected the formation to pass travelers astir beardown currents and large waves astir the clip of the outages.

"There are nary lights oregon lanterns oregon thing connected the formation to benignant of illuminate it to assistance idiosyncratic if they are connected the beach."

"We could spot the beach, and it was transportation black," Sweeney said of the formation astatine night. "We'd besides been connected the formation before, adjacent erstwhile powerfulness was on, and determination was a small trickle of airy … truthful successful a powerfulness outage, you can't spot thing astatine all. 

"There are nary lights oregon lanterns oregon thing connected the formation to benignant of illuminate it to assistance idiosyncratic if they are connected the beach. When you spell down there, you can't spot anything. The lone thing that you tin spot is conscionable … transportation achromatic — possibly a mates stars successful the entity oregon lights from surrounding resorts farther down the beach. And past you tin conscionable lone perceive similar the waves of the ocean."

Exterior presumption of a constabulary presumption astatine Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Kirill Clark)

A pistillate who stayed astatine a antithetic RIU edifice successful Punta Cana astir a week anterior to Konanki's disappearance and opted to beryllium identified by her archetypal name, Woeser, said the edifice felt harmless overall, but she had akin occupation utilizing powerfulness outlets and had 1 unusual acquisition with a antheral who did not talk English astatine a nine connected the edifice property.

"We were determination sitting astatine the bar, and 2 guys came implicit to us. We were conscionable talking," Woeser told Fox News Digital. 

One of the men opted to pass with Woeser and her person utilizing Google Translate connected his phone. At 1 point, Woeser's person said it was excessively large and went extracurricular to get immoderate air. Woeser past went to usage the bathroom.

When she got backmost to the bar, she forgot her person had stepped extracurricular and asked the antheral utilizing Google Translate that she was speaking to antecedently if helium knew wherever her person went.

"On his Google Translate app, helium was saying…'Oh, you're alone. You shouldn't beryllium here. Let's spell to the beach."

The formation country astatine the Riu Republica Resort successful Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Courtesy: D'Lani Sweeney)

Woeser felt the remark was "suspicious" and recorded him, but her person returned earlier they could accidental thing much to each other.

AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT BELIEVED TO HAVE DROWNED IN BIG WAVE: REPORT

The FBI and Loudoun County Sheriff's Office successful Virginia are progressive successful the hunt for the missing Pitt student. All of the friends she traveled with person been accounted for.

"The ongoing probe includes wide-ranging hunt efforts, on with a reappraisal of surveillance video and telephone records," the sheriff's bureau said successful a Monday property release. "Interviews are besides continuing with anyone who whitethorn person seen oregon been with Konanki earlier she went missing. The LCSO has filed for a Yellow Notice (worldwide constabulary alert for a missing person) to beryllium issued by INTERPOL."

One study suggested Konanki drowned successful the water successful Punta Cana aft getting swept up by a large wave. (AP/Francesco Spotorno)

The sheriff's bureau added that "[t]here has been sizeable nationalist speculation astir what whitethorn person happened to Konanki and who whitethorn beryllium involved."

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"We caution anyone from drafting immoderate unsubstantiated conclusions and are committed to ensuring that a thorough probe is conducted earlier immoderate conclusions are reached," they said successful a quality release. "The LCSO is hopeful for the harmless instrumentality of Sudiksha Konanki, and we are committed to supporting this probe and her household successful each mode possible."

Authorities are asking anyone with accusation to interaction the LCSO astatine 703-777-1021. To stay anonymous, telephone the Loudoun Crime Solvers astatine 703-777-1919.