The parents of the Minnesota college student identified as a person of interest in the disappearance of University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki said their son has been detained “under irregular conditions” – as sources said authorities in the Dominican Republic pledged to intensify interrogations.

The “person of interest” in the disappearance of missing Pitt student Sudiksha Konanki claims he saved them both from drowning before she vanished.

Officials said University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki was last seen on surveillance video leaving her resort and heading to the beach with 24-year-old Joshua Riibe, who is not a suspect.

Joshua Steven Riibe, 24, has been identified as the man seen hugging and walking hand-in-hand with the 20-year-old student just hours before she vanished in the Dominican Republic.

Interpol has issued a global alert for Sudiksha Konanki, the Pitt student who went missing in the Dominican Republic.

University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki has now been missing for a week. A person of interest has been identified in the search, according to a U.S. official, while Dominican Republic police say they don’t use that term.