Iowan Joshua Steven Riibe told prosecutors he and Sudiksha Konanki were hit by an intense wave and were swept out to sea.

As an international search continued Friday for a University of Pittsburgh student who vanished while on a spring break trip to the Dominican Republican earlier this month, the last person believed to see her told authorities there he tried to save her from waves and thought she had taken her things and left afterward,

Sudiksha Konanki (20), an Indian citizen and permanent resident of the United States, was last seen on March 6 at the Riu Republic Resort in Punta Cana