Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - MISSING Student Sudiksha Konanki's Clothes Found On Beach Chair, FBI Searching

Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. A gorgeous young missing University of Pittsburgh student clothes found on a beach chair along with flip-flops. That's all that's left? A sarong and some flip-flops? At this hour, the FBI joining in the search. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories.

Starting point is 00:00:31 Thank you for being with us. Sudiksha Kananki is a 20-year-old biological sciences and chemistry pre-med student at the prestigious University of Pittsburgh on a spring break trip with her girlfriends in But now authorities are frantically searching for the girl after she disappeared on the beach. Where is Suti? This beautiful young girl goes down to DR with friends. They're out having a good time dancing. They go for a moonlight walk on the beach. And now all that's left is a sarong and some flip-flops. Listen.

Starting point is 00:01:10 The search intensifies after what is believed to be Kanaki's sarong and flip-flops are found on a beach chair. Local news outlet CDN posts images of a white netted beach cover-up and a pair of flip-flops similar to what Sudeikisha was wearing when she was last seen. The photos of what could be Kanaki's belongings white netted beach cover up and a pair of flip flops similar to what Sudeikisha was wearing when she was last seen. The photos of what could be Kanaki's belongings are seen sprawled across a sun lounger and in the sand beside the chair. Why are they there? How did they get there? When did they get there? How were they found? Were they tampered with? We're being told no. That's the

Starting point is 00:01:42 biggest clue we've got other than some surveillance video and what others have to say about the night. Sudi just disappears off the map. Now, this is what her dad says. Everything was going okay and she was really happy to have a vacation with our friends. The next day, she wanted to go for an excursion. And before that, in the resort, she was fine with the swimming pool. That's for our friends at ABC News. This young girl, a shining star at University of Pittsburgh. Her world in front of her.

Starting point is 00:02:26 We've been told she was studying pre-med. Beautiful and brilliant. Now all I've got left is a flip-flop and a sarong. Joining me in All-Star panel to make sense of what we are learning right now is straight out to Emily Lehman. Joining us, Northern Virginia local editor of Patch.com. Emily, thank you for being with us. What happened? What happened that night?

Starting point is 00:02:56 Tadiksha was on a spring break trip with five female friends. It was reported that she got there on March 3rd. And then she was last seen in the early morning of March 6. So they were at the Hotel Rio Republica, which is a popular spring break spot in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. So surveillance footage shows that she was headed to the beach with a group of friends. And it was reported that there was a power outage that prompted some of the hotel guests to go to the beach in these early morning hours. But then the surveillance footage shows that only some of that group returned less than an hour later and she was not among them. And some of that group does not include her. Take a look at her. This beautiful young girl missing off spring break.

Starting point is 00:03:54 D.R. now joining me. Special guest sheriff Mike Chapman. He is joining us from Loudoun County Sheriff's Office. He is the sheriff. And you may wonder, what does Sheriff Mike Chapman have to do with this that she goes missing on spring break in the D.R.? Sheriff Chapman, thank you for being with us. Tell me your involvement in her case. Well, good to be with you. And yeah, she's a resident of Loudoun County. So we received the missing person report from her father on the evening of the 6th, and immediately we got on that, got a hold of the embassy down there, and started getting their involvement because we want to find out, like everybody else, exactly what happened here.

Starting point is 00:04:34 We still consider her a missing person. We're doing everything in our power to work with the authorities down there, with the FBI, with other agencies that are working with the Dominican Republic to see if we can bring this thing to a successful conclusion. So that's it. She's a resident of ours. We take every missing person seriously. I've had an opportunity to meet with the father and, you know, certainly my heart goes out. They're going through just a tragic set of circumstances right now. And we're doing everything that we can to try to work with them, with our victim assistance unit to kind of help right now, and we're doing everything that we can to try to work with them, with our victim assistance unit to kind of help with that, as well as doing everything we can to assist with the investigation. Sheriff Mike Chapman joining me from Loudoun County Sheriff's.

Starting point is 00:05:17 This young girl is a resident along with her family there. And Sheriff, I can't imagine much worse than your child going missing and then your child going missing in another jurisdiction across the ocean. You know, it seems like it's a hop, skip and a jump from the U.S. and it is like, you know, an hour flight, but it's a world away. Their law enforcement is different. The way they process crime scenes, their interaction with victims, family and sheriff. It's conjuring up horrible image of another young girl that goes on spring break and is never seen again. Listen, she tells me she doesn't want me to feel her up. I insist. I keep feeling

Starting point is 00:06:07 her up either way. And she needs me. She ends up kneeing me in the crotch. When she needs me in the crotch, I get up on the beach and I kick her extremely hard in the face. Yeah, she's laying down unconscious, possibly even dead, but definitely unconscious. And I see right next to her, there's a huge cinder block laying on the beach. Just hearing the voice of Jorn Vandersloot, the judge's son that murdered Natalie, it gives me a physical response. Now, that is the backdrop in everybody's mind in the search for this beautiful, young University of Pittsburgh student. You know, Sheriff Chapman, that has to be on your mind. Is she dead? Is she alive? Are we ever going to get an answer?

Starting point is 00:07:15 Because we never found Natalie's body. Well, of course it is, and everything's a possibility right now. That's why we sent investigators down there to actually get a firsthand account with Joshua Reve, the last person that we know was with her, to try to get his side of the story. There were some inconsistencies that surfaced kind of early on, and we wanted to get the information firsthand. I think those inconsistencies were minor, and they probably had more to do with the translation from English to Spanish and vice versa. So, but that's why we sent people down. We want to make sure we're getting a firsthand account of what's going on there, working with the Dominicans, working with the FBI down there,

Starting point is 00:07:54 because we just want to make sure that we don't leave any stone unturned. And we are concerned, obviously, and we want to do everything we can to help resolve this very, very challenging and difficult situation. I got to tell you something, Sheriff Mike Chapman. I am so heartened and relieved that you have sent your people down there. I have studied cases in the islands, including in Mexico as well. And it's a whole nother system. It's a whole nother variety of law enforcement there. And knowing that your people are there now, the FBI has joined in is quite a comfort. Now, you mentioned that the main person of interest, as he is now called, has given several different statements. But after

Starting point is 00:08:46 analyzing the different statements, I'm not sure how different they really are. Let's listen. In the first version of Reby's account, he tells police he and Kanonke went into the water. He swallowed water from the rough surf, which made him throw up. So he went back to shore. But before leaving, he asked Kenanke if she was OK. Riebe says he got to the shore and threw up and laid down. OK, let's just analyze that. OK, joining me, as I said, an all star panel back to Sheriff Mike Chapman. That is his, as it is called, his first statement. Do you agree that that generally is his first statement? That seems to be, yes, that would be his first statement. And that seems to be pretty consistent with what he said since that time.

Starting point is 00:09:33 Okay, let's take a listen to his so-called second statement. In Joshua Reby's second version of events, he claims he and Sadiq Shah are in waist-deep water where they are talking and kissing when a rogue wave crashes over them and sweeps them into the current. Reby claims they try to call for help when they surface, but there is no one around. Reby further claims as a certified lifeguard, he grabs Kanaki and holds her under his arm as he tries to swim back to shore, all the while trying to get her to breathe as he pulls them back to the beach, but struggles to catch his breath. OK, let's analyze what we're hearing. I don't know if you have ever found this to be true.

Starting point is 00:10:12 Joining me, high profile lawyer Eric Faddis, trial lawyer, TV legal analyst, founding find a discrepancy, a conflict. Now, upon questioning, and they've been questioning this guy for hours and hours and hours. Why? Obviously, they need to question him for hours and hours and hours. He's the last one with her. Everybody else leaves and leaves him, much like in the Natalie Holloway case. Her friends left her. Everybody else leaves and leaves him much like in the Natalie Holloway case. Everybody, her friends left her, the Calpo brothers left them alone on the beach and she's never seen again. Okay. So with that as a backdrop, his story changed. Jorn Vandersloot's story changed dramatically. It was full of conflicts, full of discrepancies. But when you ask question somebody for hours and hours and hours and you ask them different questions that may elicit embellishment,

Starting point is 00:11:14 additional facts you didn't hear the first time, not necessarily a conflict. Yeah, Nancy, and looking at both statements, you know, the second statement has significantly more detail. It kind of tells more of a harrowing story of rescuing her from the sea, which wasn't entirely present in the first statement, is my understanding. That being said, like you mentioned, when there are multiple interviews, it's not uncommon for additional details to come out as each subsequent interview is had, because there are new questions that are being asked. There are other details the investigators have that they're prying into. And so it's not entirely uncommon. And my read on it is similar to that of the sheriff's. Hmm. Okay. I want to believe you. I want to believe the sheriff and impute nothing but good intentions on everyone. But when you look at the two statements, I mean, it just seems to me, let me go straight

Starting point is 00:12:11 out to Ben Dobrin joining me, emergency medical service, Marine dive team. Ben, it seems to me that if I had grabbed somebody, which I have with both of my children, by the way, on separate occasions and pulled them to shore, that I would have mentioned that the first time, the first time he says he and she went into the water, he swallowed water, which made him throw up. He went back to shore. He swallowed water, which made him throw up. He went back to shore. He asked her if she was okay. He got to shore and threw up and laid down.

Starting point is 00:12:51 Second version, he adds they're kissing and making out in waist deep water. A rogue wave crashes over them, sweeps them out into the current. They try to call for help. No one around. And he holds her under his arm and tries to swim back to shore, trying to get her to breathe. That is a lot of information, Ben, that he actually grabbed her and pulled her back to safety.

Starting point is 00:13:22 I didn't hear that the first time. Absolutely. And, you know, an interesting thing is, yes, he was a lifeguard, but he was a pool lifeguard. And I want to point out there's a very clear distinction between a pool lifeguard and being an ocean lifeguard. There's very different tests. And the water is very different. Every report, both versions, the water was rough. Rough water is very different than pool water.

Starting point is 00:13:44 The bottom is different in the ocean. It's sandy. There's holes. There's dips. Whereas in a pool, you know, it's a pretty solid footing and it's very predictable where it is. So you can be walking in the ocean and hit a hole and be overhead, you know, very quickly. But for a pool trained lifeguard, you know, to be doing a rescue in the ocean, there's the waves. And, you know, one report said that he kept her head out of the water. He was trying to keep her head out of water, but his head kept going underwater. That tells me he didn't know how to do an ocean rescue. And it's believable for somebody who's just a pool train lifeguard. And, you know, if he was throwing up water, if you've ever been, you know, near

Starting point is 00:14:18 drowning, and that's what that was, if he's saying he was throwing up water, that's a near drowning. He was concerned at that point, you know, with dealing with his own issues and not looking after her, whether he brought her to shore or whether he abandoned her. Like the first one, the early version said he abandoned her in waist deep water, thinking she could walk by herself back. But the later version saying he brought her to shore before he let her go. But either way, you know, he's focused on throwing up. I am maybe projecting here, but I had a very serious dive accident off the coast of Cozumel and nearly drowned and was throwing up water. It was coming out of my nose, my mouth.

Starting point is 00:14:57 If you're in that shape, I don't know how you can look around and see anything that's going on, which goes to his benefit and to his detriment. Because he says he's throwing up and not paying attention. And he looked around and she was gone. On the other hand, he also says this. Now, listen to the third version. Joshua Reby gives a third version of events where he heroically gets Sadiq Shah Kananki back to shore, but says he swallowed a lot of water and could have lost consciousness several times.

Starting point is 00:15:29 Reaching the ground of the beach, he pulls Kananki in front of himself, and she casually walks to gather her belongings in knee-deep water. Reby says he asks her if she's okay, but doesn't hear an answer due to vomiting all of the salt water he swallowed while saving Kananki. He says he looked around and doesn't see anyone, assumed she grabbed her belongings and left. Feeling bad and tired, Revy says he fell asleep in a beach chair. Where is missing 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student Sudeeksha Kananki? The bio and chemistry student was last seen on the beach before mysteriously disappearing. Where is Sadiq Shah at this hour? The FBI joining in the search straight out to Sheriff Mike Chapman and joining us from Loudoun County Sheriff. He is the sheriff there who has sent

Starting point is 00:16:16 reps from his office, from his force down to the D.R. to try to find her. I've got a question. And to your understanding, why is the FBI involved? Well, they're the contact at try to find her. I've got a question. And to your understanding, why is the FBI involved? Well, they're the contact at the U.S. embassy, probably the best to lead this investigation from a U.S. standpoint. But you have to remember that it's the Dominican Republic. So it really is their investigation. So the FBI is assisting and we're assisting. And one of the things that you brought up before, Nancy, was the fact that it's a foreign country here and people have to understand it may seem like America when you get there because, you know, a resort like that, people

Starting point is 00:16:55 are speaking English and they're, you know, it seems very friendly with a lot of Americans there. But the fact is, it's a foreign country and there's a lot of other things that you have to deal with when you're in a foreign country. So we're assisting the FBI, who is actually assisting the Dominican authorities there. But again, I sent my people down there because we wanted to get a firsthand account and not hear secondhand information. You know, Sheriff, you've got a great record. You're beloved and looked up to in your jurisdiction. But can we just get real for a moment?

Starting point is 00:17:28 The law enforcement in the D.R. Are you kidding me? You think I'm going to trust the law enforcement in the D.R.? No, I'm not. You know, I started writing a book, Don't Be a Victim. I got to the D.R. I practically had to write a whole chapter for Pete's sake. You think they've got touch DNA? You think they know how to use a vac at a crime scene or complicated blood spatter or anything remotely like we have developed in the United

Starting point is 00:18:00 States? That's a yes, no, Sheriff. Do you really believe that their investigation even approaches what we would consider a world-class investigation like you would find in your jurisdiction? Well, I'm retired from DEA. I served three times overseas. And you're right, Nancy, you can't, you know, there's a huge difference between what our foreign counterparts can do and what we can do and the capabilities that we have in the U.S. I think the best thing that's going on here right now is the fact that it's staying in the news. It kind of forces them to make sure that they're on their game because they've got oversight. They've got everybody looking at it from across the globe here with regards to the media. You have the FBI that's looking at what they're doing down there. You

Starting point is 00:18:43 have us that's looking at what they're doing. So the fact is that I think all that helps hold them more accountable and it gives us the opportunity to share some of the capabilities that we have with them. And I know, you know, like the FBI, for example, I believe sent a dive team down. So there's a lot that we can offer there. And, again, it's a foreign country, so we're trying to kind of help with them, help guide them through it a little bit and make sure they're not missing anything. Okay. Sheriff Mike Chapman, you're being overly kind in your analysis, in my opinion, because every foreign investigation into a U.S. citizen going missing has gone sideways.

Starting point is 00:19:28 Listen. When you say cinder block, looking at the walls of this place, is it like those? Exact same cinder blocks. I see a huge cinder block laying on the beach. I take this and I smash her head in with it completely. Her face basically collapses in. Even though it's dark, I can see her face has collapsed in. Afterwards, I don't exactly know what, you know, I'm scared. I don't know what to do. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

Starting point is 00:20:22 Joining me, a longtime colleague and friend, Professor of Forensics, Jacksonville State University, author of Blood Beneath My Feet on Amazon, star of a hit series, Body Bags, with Joe Scott Morgan. Joe Scott, you were with me in the courtroom there at the Hugo Black Federal Building with Beth Holloway. You just heard the double killer, Jorn Vandersloot, describing how he murdered Natalie Holloway in Aruba. And you recall, Joe Scott, that Beth and I went back to Aruba to try on our own to stir up, find more clues, more anything to help find Natalie. Jorn Vandersloot was in court 14 years later, and we still don't really know what happened to Natalie. The only thing I know is one thing, that he sex attacked her and he murdered her. So all this about we're helping Dominican Republic,

Starting point is 00:21:35 we better go there and take over the investigation and let them help us. You really think, Joe Scott Morgan, that they have adequately handled the investigation into where is Sadiqshah? No, they haven't. And we lost critical time, critical time, Joe Scott. Yeah, pressure, pressure, pressure is what has to constantly be applied in here. And you cannot take the spotlight off of this case. We've seen how these cases have gone over the years. And certainly, Natalie's case is a benchmark in time relative to what can happen as memories begin to erode. And we don't want that to happen

Starting point is 00:22:18 in this particular case in the DR. We have to continue to press. And I would suggest as well, the party that she was with, and I'm not talking about this fellow that she was last seen with, I'm talking about all of her friends that were there. They need to be sequestered and they need to be pressed about all of the activities that they engaged in that evening relative to any kind of consumption of alcohol, her behavior prior to interacting with this young man, and then perhaps if they observed her interacting with him on any level, whether it be violent, whether it be romantic, as he has implied, if you will. And, you know, my biggest thing here is, were there any agents that were applied to her relative

Starting point is 00:23:06 to things that she had consumed? Remember, one of the things that happened in the Holloway case was that we had suspected for some period of time that there may have been some kind of inebriant that was applied to her in her drinks at that particular time. I'm thinking about things like GHB, date rape drugs, those sorts of things. So word of warning here, that needs to be because, listen, we don't have her to do a tox draw on. OK, so we can't tell you what's going on with her toxicologically.

Starting point is 00:23:41 All we have to rely upon are those people that were there as witnesses to what had happened prior to her going missing that night. That's going to be key. A spring break trip takes a turn for the worst when 20 year old University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Kananki vanishes after a night out with friends. Let's see that video one more time. I want to make sure you see what I'm seeing. This is from our friend at Know to See Us. Our friends at Know to See Us. Now she's on the left.

Starting point is 00:24:12 Look, there she goes throwing up. That's Sadiqsha on the left. A friend is there. See, right there. Okay, and they're talking to each other. But if you look on the right, we believe that is him. See him, we think, on the right, throwing up out by a trash can. Now, is that everyone else's understanding or is that what we're seeing?

Starting point is 00:24:40 Let's just start it over one more time, which leads me to Joe Scott Morgan's question. What did they ingest that's making them throw up? Okay, take a listen to this. Sadiq Shah Kananki and five college friends arrive in the Dominican Republic on March 3rd. They've booked rooms at the all-inclusive resort Rio Republica in Punta Cana. A couple of days later, Sadiq Shah and her friends are dancing in a disco when the resort experiences a 25-hour power outage in some areas. The group of six women and two men decide to go for a moonlight walk on the beach. Surveillance videos document Sadiqsha Kananki and five women along with two men walking toward the beach. About an hour later, surveillance footage shows five women and one man leaving the beach.

Starting point is 00:25:18 Kananki apparently stays behind on the beach with Joshua Reby, a 24-year-old spring breaker from the U.S. Okay, guys, you are seeing more from our friends at SIN. Take a look at this. Now, we are seeing the two of them walking. Okay, now, I understand that this is after. There they are. Yes, there they are. And that is consistent with what he was wearing when he was vomiting. Remember in that video you see the white sneakers, the white socks, the shorts, and the backpack.

Starting point is 00:25:51 That's why we believe that was him vomiting at a trash can outside. Now you got another view. This is from our friends at SIN, a surveillance video catching. There you see the group. They're all walking to the beach, arm in arm. There you go. Now, what happened after that? To Dr. Chloe Carmichael, joining us, clinical psychologist and author of Nervous Energy, Harness the Pair of Your Anxiety. And you can find her on Twitter at Dr. Chloe. Dr. Chloe, as Sheriff Mike Chapman was saying earlier, it feels like the U.S. and that

Starting point is 00:26:29 gives you the suggestion of safety, that you understand what's around you, that you understand what's happening. Typically, you go into a bar and you're dancing, have a good time with your friends in the U.S. It's unlikely it happens, but it's unlikely you're going to get drugged and start throwing up. It's unlikely you're going to be separated from your friends. It can happen, but you're functioning. Maybe it's because you're on vacation. I'm not sure what it is. Your defenses are down and you're functioning in a bubble. Explain that. Yeah, Nancy, I agree. There's something really strange, you know, even for spring break.

Starting point is 00:27:13 It's definitely noteworthy that they're sitting there at a bar with their friends. Everyone's dressed up looking nice. And then they're literally sitting there puking, but they don't even seem bothered by it, it really does point to a serious possibility of maybe taking ecstasy or drugs where you kind of expect to throw up before you then start to feel good. And it makes me wonder,

Starting point is 00:27:37 since that young man pictured obviously appears to be a wrestler, I wonder if he's on a wrestling scholarship. I wonder if that's holding him back from coming forward and saying, yeah, I was taking illegal drugs and there was, you know, I didn't intend to hurt her, but, you know, we, we, something went wrong with the drugs and maybe he's concerned about losing his scholarship. I'm not sure because she doesn't fit the profile of a serious risk seeker, right?

Starting point is 00:28:06 You know, she's very organized. She's in a pre-med program. She's only there on a vacation. So something about it definitely seems strange. I would also be curious, since he says that he went and fell asleep in a chair, that doesn't sound like somebody who's guilty and trying to evade the scene of a crime. We have a lot of video of him before the incident. I'm curious about the first time that he appears on video after the disappearance.

Starting point is 00:28:30 I agree with you. Now, this is what he says happens. Listen. After the night on the beach, Kanaki's friends go on an excursion that Kanaki had not signed up for, so they don't miss her as they head out. At 8.55 a.m., Joshua Reby returns to his hotel room alone without his shoes or a shirt. It's only after Sadiqshah's friends return that afternoon they realize they don't know where Sadiqshah is. Tracking down Joshua Reby, he says he passed out on the beach and when he awoke,

Starting point is 00:28:56 he was alone and went to his hotel room assuming Kananki had already done the same. But it's been 12 hours since she was last seen. I want to look at the video again, but to Eric Faddis, what about his cell phone? The cell phone is always a critical piece of evidence in a case like this and needs to be looked into a little more further, I think. When you look at that video that we just saw of the two walking near the hotel at night, Remy has what appears to be a cell phone in his hand sort of documenting what's going on. Common Sense would tell us that that could be his cell phone. But later, in some reports I've read, he tells police that after he's at the beach, he goes back to his own room to get his

Starting point is 00:29:38 cell phone. So when did he drop it off? Is there some sort of evidence of that? Did someone go with him? Is there a witness statement to corroborate that? What is going on with this cell phone and what might it show about what happened? We're learning more. Good point, Eric Faddis. We're learning more about the timeline. Now, the vomiting, the vomiting video. Yeah, there it is.

Starting point is 00:29:59 There's what we believe is his cell phone. You're right, Eric. And it looks like he's videoing a selfie video. You're right. Is that his or is that hers? And has her cell phone been found? The vomiting incident is around 4.05 a.m. Okay?

Starting point is 00:30:20 Now, listen to this. CCTV helps chart a timeline for Joshua Reby starting around 4 a.m. when he is seen with his arm draped around Sudiksha Kananki as they are headed to the beach at the resort. Joshua Reby is spotted on CCTV walking back alone from the beach at 8.55 a.m. Sudiksha is not seen on CCTV returning from the beach. So we've got 4.05. They're throwing up and walking toward the beach. And now look at this shot. This is the shot we're talking about. 8.55. Between 4.05 a.m. and 8.55 a.m. This happens. Okay, Sheriff Mike Chapman, weigh in.

Starting point is 00:31:08 Well, I can tell you, you know, we're we are looking at the phones. We have the numbers. There's there is work that's being done on that. I can't really go into the detail on that. We do have some extensive investigation that's being done on that. And that's going to take a little a little bit of time to get that information back but uh but it's not a it's not anything that's been an oversight on the investigators part we are again working with the fbi working with our our counterparts and trying to do the best we can to get as much information as we can with regards to the phones when you say as much information as you can regarding the phones sheriff chapman have they found both of their phones? Again, I can't really get into that.

Starting point is 00:31:45 What I can tell you is that we do have the numbers of, I believe, everybody who was down there involved. And there is some technical work that's being done on that. But again, that's, you know, it's part of the ongoing investigation. And we can't really discuss that a whole lot more. After careful analysis, there's not that much difference in what he's saying in his multiple versions. Also, according to a Kanaki family friend, he was very helpful. Listen to what they told our friends at ABC. We walked to the beach along with the boy and the boy helped us

Starting point is 00:32:26 and he was demoing us kind of like what really happened and where he was. Our friends at ABC. The investigation intensifies for missing 20-year-old Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Kananki, last seen on the beach while on a spring break trip with friends. Where is Sudiksha? How is it she goes out to the beach, she is kissing a guy in about waist-deep water, and suddenly she's washed out to sea. Rebe, the, well, is the so-called person of interest. But now we're learning that D.R. is backtracking, saying he's not really a person of interest. He's a witness.

Starting point is 00:33:18 Now, I find that really interesting that they're holding him there. He can't leave. They've got his passport. Yet he's just a witness. Let me ask you about that, Ir holding him there. He can't leave. They've got his passport, yet he's just a witness. Let me ask you about that, Irv Brandt. Now, I am transposing the U.S. justice system onto the DR, which is anything but true, but you have to be a POI or a suspect or be named a material witness by a court before you can have your passport taken, seized and forced to stay there. At least that's the law in the U.S. What's happening?

Starting point is 00:33:55 Well, it's exactly what you said, Nancy. We view these things as we would view them in the U.S., which once you leave the U.S., it's completely different. Their country, their rules. And not in a good way, Irv, not in a good way. No, I agree in most cases, Nancy. I've worked extensively outside of the country, and it's very frustrating. But each country has their own way of doing things. And if they take his passport, then they take his passport and he can't leave until they tell him he can leave. I've never accused you of putting perfume on the pig, but I guess I'll have to do

Starting point is 00:34:39 it for the first time right now, Erbrand. Every country has their own way of doing things. You mean their own way of botching up an investigation? Wouldn't that be a little more accurate, just like in Aruba? Yes, that would be more accurate, Nancy. I'm being far too nice. And I don't know why, because every hour counts if she is still alive. And there is that possibility. Anything could have happened to her.

Starting point is 00:35:04 Every hour counts. And while we are tiptoeing around the fact that the D.R. is screwing this up, that's one more hour lost, Irv. One more hour. Thank heaven Chapman sent his people down and the FBI are involved. I mean, Joe Scott, help me out. Am I just screaming down the window going down 3rd Avenue? Every hour counts here, and we can't rely on the DR to do anything. One of the biggest concerns for me, Nancy, is the idea that this is not like a broad spectrum approach relative to an investigation.

Starting point is 00:35:38 If they're only focused on this one kid here, this one guy that she was last seen with, you're going to miss other things along the way. I have a real issue with both of these individuals almost throwing up simultaneously at that bar. I want to know if there's any other kind of illness that could be associated there on there. And I want to know if anybody's been following this. Joe Scott, do you recall the extensive investigation we did into alcohol poisoning at these all inclusive resorts that have ended in the deaths of several Americans? You go to a bar, you have something to drink. It's bootleg whiskey put in a U.S. bottle. It might say Seagram's or something else on the front, but you're getting some hooch made in somebody's garage.

Starting point is 00:36:33 So that's happening. Dave and I just covered cases out of Southeast Asia involving methanol. And there are a huge group of these cases that have happened in Turkey as well, Nancy, where you're not using ethanol, which is what we consume alcohol-wise. They make bootleg hooch or bathtub gin out of methanol, which is very, very dangerous stuff. I want to know if there's any other instances down in the DR at this specific resort that have led. And it can lead to things like blindness, nausea, and ultimately death. I want to know if anybody else was presenting that way that night. That's what I mean by broad spectrum here. You can't just narrow your focus

Starting point is 00:37:16 down to this one event. We want to know what else was going on around them that night. And again, this could be a PR nightmare for the DR if there is any kind of problem with alcohol down. All right. Like it was a PR nightmare for Aruba when Natalie went missing. Tourism from the U.S. skyrocketed. OK, so when you don't know a horse, look at the track record. When you don't know what's going to happen, look at what already did happen. But I agree with you, Joe Scott, we can't get tunnel vision on Rebe. Now, yes, I've got a problem with him. Of course, I've got a problem with him. He's the last one with a girl. And all I've got is a flip flop and a sarong. He's the last one with her. And his story is all over the map. Not necessarily inconsistent though. So yes, I'm looking at him, but tunnel

Starting point is 00:38:05 vision is not going to help find her. And as a matter of fact, this is what people that know Rebe have to say. Josh was just so polite. He was a good teammate in sports and he was part of the Boy Scout troop. Never hurt a girl. You know, I don't know what happened, but there's no way he would have intentionally been any part of any scheme to do something to her. From our friends at GMA. Authorities are looking at an Iowa man believed to be the last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Kananki. Also under the microscope, two Venmo payments. One, we don't know exactly what it is, but Sudiksha put an emoji of a sailboat

Starting point is 00:38:54 beside the Venmo payment. You know, you can put a little message in there. And the other one is for a place, Coco Bongo, to Emily Lehman joining us from Patch.com. Explain to me about the two Venmos and where they fit into the timeline. They fit in the timeline because those are the last Venmo transactions that she had. And these are, you know, you think payments that she would send between friends for the activities that they were doing when they were on their spring break

Starting point is 00:39:25 trip but one of them of course you don't really know much about because all it has is the sailboat emoji and we don't really know much information about who that went to and then the other one of course you know went to who was confirmed to be a friend with her on the trip, but we don't know who else was at that nightclub. The thinking is the sailboat emoji indicates it could have been an excursion. And like Dr. Chloe Carmichael was telling us earlier, you kind of suspend your reality. You're functioning under the illusion that you're safe. You meet a guy and you immediately go for a walk on the beach and go out in the water with him alone.

Starting point is 00:40:09 Why? Why? Of course she's young. But it's happened before and not just with Natalie Holloway. Robyn Gardner needed a getaway. Gardner had met Gary Giordano on Match.com a year before. Friends say the two weren't super close and had a platonic relationship, but stayed in contact via email. When the invitation came, Robin said yes, and the pair arrived in Aruba July 31st. I was told that she was lost at sea, and I just found that very surprising because I know that she really doesn't swim or get into the water because she

Starting point is 00:40:47 has extensions and wear makeup and got all dolled up and she just didn't want to ruin that. And that was Robin's sister talking to me and apparently with Robin Gardner's case she just washed out to sea. Okay, although she would never have gotten in the water after just having her hair done. And there's more. What about Wesley Bell? Texas native Wesley Bell is in the Bahamas attending a yoga retreat on Paradise Island in Nassau. The Sevenandra Ashram Yoga Retreat Bahamas

Starting point is 00:41:21 featured in the New York Times, Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop, and HuffPost as a top travel destination. Danielle Ward Packard, who was at the retreat at the same time as Bell, says he walked off by himself to snorkel one day and never returned. Searches are conducted, but Bell is never found. And Taylor Casey. Taylor Casey goes missing from the same Bahamian retreat. Casey disappears about halfway through getting a yoga instructor certification at 700 on ashram yoga. Last seen at the ashram, she's reported missing

Starting point is 00:41:51 after failing to show up for morning classes. Police find her phone in the water days later, but haven't been able to access its contents and she remains missing. To Sheriff Mike Chapman, how is it people just walk out in the water and they're never seen again, according to reports? Don't you find that disturbing, Sheriff? Of course. I mean, if that was the case in this case, I mean, you know, you certainly would hope for a recovery, a quick recovery, but that hasn't happened. So that's why we can't really jump to any conclusions just yet. But, yeah, it's a shame. But it does happen from time to time.

Starting point is 00:42:29 I wish I had better answers tonight, Sheriff. Usually the facts are more clearly defined. But this is just too murky to make a call. know is this young girl, pre-med, Sudiksha, is gone. Tip line, local number, 703-777-1021. Repeat, this is Sheriff Mike Chapman's number, 703-777-1021. Nancy Grace signing off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.

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Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - MISSING Student Sudiksha Konanki's Clothes Found On Beach Chair, FBI Searching

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