Joshua Riibe, a 22-year-old from Iowa, is believed to be the last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive on March 6.

The State Department has confirmed it is assisting in the search for missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, whom authorities believed drowned on March 6.

A man who investigators believe was the last person to see missing US college student Sudiksha Konanki alive appeared in a Dominican Republic court Tuesday to ask it to grant him freedom, arguing Dominican authorities have inappropriately restrained his movements without charges since the 20-year-old woman’s disappearance.