PITTSBURGH, Pa. – As students returned to the picturesque University of Pittsburgh campus after spring break, one student was noticeably missing. Sudiksha Konanki, a 20-year-old pre-medical student, vanished over a week ago and has yet to be found.
Fox News Digital spoke with university students about spring break safety and their perspectives on international travel in light of Konanki’s disappearance.
The students shared what safety tips they plan on implementing following the Virginia resident’s disappearance in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
IOWA WITNESS HELD IN MISSING AMERICAN STUDENT CASE APPEARS IN DOMINICAN COURT
Sudiksha Konanki in a Facebook selfie photo. The 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh junior has been missing since March 6, when she vanished during a spring break trip to a five-star resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. (Sudiksha Konanki/Facebook)
“I think it’s such a crazy concept that it could be anybody, especially considering we also had friends who were at the same resort at the same time,” Bailey Wagenknecht, a junior marketing student, told Fox News Digital. “Something that could literally happen to anybody.”
Wagenknecht, along with her friend, Olivia Lee, a sophomore business student, shared that their group of friends had considered traveling internationally, but decided against it.
“It was a conversation that we had about what kind of people were going to be going, and what we would have to do to make sure that we were going to be safe in that environment,” Wagenknecht said.
“[Safety while traveling internationally] is in the back of your mind a bit when you’re planning these kind of trips,” Lee said. “I don’t think it’s something that necessarily should scare people or kind of make them feel like they can’t go on these trips with their friends, but just be more cautious.”
AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT DISAPPEARS IN DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: TIMELINE
Robert Beckman (L) and David Eymer (R), both first-year business students, shared the importance of a buddy system when traveling. (LP Media for Fox News Digital)
“I went to Myrtle Beach last year for my senior spring break and just being around a group of people that you’re comfortable with and have your back is always so important, especially when you’re in a place so far from home,” Robert Beckman, a first-year business student, said. “I’m originally from Erie [Pennsylvania], so it was kind of hard to convince my parents that I should be down there with my friends.”
David Eymer, also a first-year business student, said that he was taught to stick with the “buddy system” whenever traveling.
“Something that my family has always been big on, is the buddy system,” he said. “Especially if you’re going somewhere that you aren’t used to – like a spring break trip.”
“Always have somebody close by that you can trust,” he said. “And try not to wander off by yourself when you’re in a new environment.”
Kate Wentzler, a junior in interdisciplinary studies, told Fox News Digital that she also traveled internationally for spring break. She shared how she and her friends keep the “buddy system” when traveling – or when going out. (LP Media for Fox News Digital)
Kate Wentzler, a junior in interdisciplinary studies, told Fox News Digital that she went to Spain for spring break. She shared how the break came amid an “especially hard time in the semester.”
“Just seeing that thing can happen to someone in this area, someone that people know around here is really sad and it is really tragic,” she said. “Unfortunately, that kind of thing can happen anywhere, regardless of what you do. It can happen here too.”
Wentzler said that despite Konanki’s disappearance, she would still travel to the Dominican Republic, but she cautioned other students to create a safety plan and stick with it.
“It has a lot to do with individual choices and even your plans just for that one night and who you plan to spend it with,” she said. “I think it more comes down to that than something about the D.R. itself or traveling in general.”
Aubrey Coward, a freshman pre-pharmacy student, told Fox News Digital that she would prioritize traveling in groups. (LP Media for Fox News Digital)
Aubrey Coward, a first-year pre-pharmacy student, said that she’s taking the circumstances surrounding Konanki’s disappearance to heart, saying that for future spring breaks, she wouldn’t go off by herself.
“I don’t have the finances to go on a vacation like that,” she shared. “But if I do travel during college, my parents have always taught me to go with people you know and don’t ever leave with anyone. Always travel in groups.”
MISSING AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT SEEN IN NEW HOTEL SECURITY FOOTAGE BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE
US college student Sudiksha Konanki went missing while on vacation with her friends in Punta Cana on March 6, 2025. (Fox News Graphics)
Konanki, a 20-year-old pre-med student at the University of Pittsburgh, vanished on March 6, during a spring break trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic. She was last seen in the early hours on a beach near the Riu República Hotel, where she had been staying with friends.
Extensive search efforts by Dominican authorities, including aerial and underwater operations, have not yet yielded any evidence of foul play.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Authorities believe that Konanki drowned, with her parents requesting that she be declared legally deceased.
