As the search for Sudiksha Konanki continues, the parents of the missing college student have asked the Dominican authorities to issue a declaration of death.

Dominican Republic National Police spokesperson Diego Pesqueira said that the family sent police the request in a letter.

They said that they believed what the only witness to their daughter’s disappearance told police. Her father had asked police to investigate all possibilities into why their daughter disappeared.

“Following an extensive search, Dominican authorities have concluded that Sudiksha is believed to have drowned,” her parents wrote. “Her clothes were discovered on a beach near where she was last seen. The individual last seen with her is cooperating with the investigation, and no evidence of foul play has been found.”

“Initiating this process will allow our family to begin the grieving process and address matters related to her absence,” they wrote.

“While no declaration can truly ease our grief, we trust that this step will bring some closure and enable us to honor her memory.”

Konanki, 20, disappeared on March 6 while on spring break with friends from the University of Pittsburgh. She was last seen on a beach in Punta Cana. Her body has not been found.

Detectives from Loudon County, Virginia, where her family lives, have traveled to the island as part of the investigation.

The case was initially being investigated as a drowning but officials in the Dominican Republic said it was also investigating “beyond a possible accident.”

Joshua Riibe has been detained by police and is believed to be the last person to see her alive. He has not been named as a suspect or accused of wrongdoing. His attorney has asked that he be released.

Riibe, who is from Iowa but is a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, told police he had been drinking with Konanki on the beach and were kissing while standing in waist-deep water when the tide pulled them out to sea. Riibe, who is a former lifeguard, swam Konanki back to the shore, but because of the amount of seawater that he swallowed, he vomited. While he was sick, Konanki told him she was going to get her things, and she was gone when he looked.

Red flags indicating strong currents and high waves were flying at the time of Konanki’s disappearance.

He said he passed out on a beach chair, woke up a few hours later and then returned to his hotel.

Riibe’s parents said police are keeping him in custody “under irregular conditions” without translators or attorneys. He is being kept in a hotel room under the eye of police for a week.

Police also confiscated Riibe’s passport.

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