Legal fight over American college student’s resort disappearance could come down to who was ‘reckless’: lawyer

Prior to the disappearance of an American college student in the Dominican Republic, she and the last people she was seen with on March 6 had been drinking before deciding to swim in rough surf, prompting questions about liability that the resort where they were staying could potentially face.

In the early morning hours of March 6, Sudiksha Konanki and her friends walked from a hotel bar to the beach outside the RIU Republica in Punta Cana, where she was staying with five female friends from the University of Pittsburgh.

The 20-year-old apparently went for a swim with a 22-year-old man named Joshua Riibe, of Iowa, who has been identified as a witness in her disappearance. Riibe apparently told Dominican Republic authorities that they went swimming and were struck by a large wave, which is the last time he saw her.

"I was over at the Natalee Holloway investigation way back when. And although there are some similarities here, there are some differences," Chris Swecker, former FBI Criminal Investigative Division assistant director, told Fox News Digital. "But in this case, I think it's plausible, based on everything that I've read, that it is a drowning.… I don't think it's an outlandish assumption here, based on the facts, that they were both pretty drunk."

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Riibe told police he had been drinking vodka with 7Up and tequila shots, adding that the group of women he had been with purchased "pink tequila shots" that they drank as a group.

On the beach, he and Konanki went in the water while two of her female friends stayed ashore. Riibe and Konanki were talking when a "big wave" hit them, Riibe said. There was a red-flag warning on the beach at the time, indicating a warning for people not to go swimming in rough surf.

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In January, four tourists drowned near Punta Cana, when a red flag warned of strong currents and rough seas, according to The Associated Press.

"When it comes to the ocean… if you don't recover a body pretty quick, then the sea life is going to take care of it," Swecker said. "And we haven't seen a body wash up by now."

Swecker, who is also a lawyer, added that he could "definitely see a liability issue for the resort" in connection with Konanki's disappearance.

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"Depending on industry standards for a resort like that, where there are enough cameras, whether… people were outside the hotel because of a power outage. Should there have been security on the beach?" he asked.

Just two hours prior to Konanki's disappearance, RIU Republica had resolved a nearly 25-hour-long electricity outage that impacted about 30% of the resort, leaving some people without light, water, Wi-Fi, or electricity in their rooms to charge phones or other electronics. 

"In response to publications linking the electrical failure experienced at the Riu Republica hotel with the tragic disappearance of guest Sudiksha Chowdary Konanki, RIU Hotels & Resorts wishes to firmly clarify that both events are completely unrelated," RIU Resorts & Hotels previously told Fox News Digital in a statement.

The hotel parent company added that the RIU Republica's staff's efforts "were exemplary in terms of dedication, commitment, and professionalism in resolving a severe technical failure within hours and mitigating the effects it had on services throughout that time."

Luis Vilchez, a lawyer in the Dominican Republic, does not think the resort will be held liable unless the guests prove that "the hotel or its employees acted recklessly."

"If the guest acted recklessly, the hotel would, in principle, not be held liable."

— Luis Vilchez

"Similarly, regarding beach swimming conditions, it would have to be demonstrated that the hotel failed to provide adequate signage to inform guests about the proper use of the beach," Vilchez told Fox News Digital.

"If the guest acted recklessly, the hotel would, in principle, not be held liable – for example, if the guest swam outside designated hours when no lifeguard was on duty and despite visible danger signs, such as red flags indicating bad weather."

He continued: "In this particular case, I do not see grounds for a claim against the resort when two adults failed to follow the safety measures established by the hotel to prevent accidents. That is, it would be necessary to prove that the hotel was negligent in indicating, communicating or enforcing the safety measures."

Swecker said it would be possible for Konanki's family to sue the resort for negligence if there was "insufficient security," "insufficient lighting on the beach" or for failing to close or secure the beach during a red-flag warning.

Fox News Digital reached out to RIU Republica for comment.

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Konanki was last seen on surveillance footage walking from RIU Republica to the beach with seven other people, including five females and two males, around 4:15 a.m. on March 6. She was last seen on the beach around 4:50 a.m., according to the Dominican Republic prosecutor's office and the hotel.

Hotel surveillance footage then shows a group of six people, including five women and one man, returning to the hotel from the beach around 5:55 a.m.

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The young man previously seen with Konanki is seen on surveillance footage entering the interior of the hotel around 9 a.m. on March 6.

Authorities are asking anyone with information to contact the Loudoun County Sheriff's Office at 703-777-1021. To remain anonymous, call Loudoun Crime Solvers at 703-777-1919. 

Fox News' Michael Ruiz and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.