An American who was the last person believed to have been seen with missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki boarded a plane and took off from the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, nearly two weeks after he said authorities forced him to stay in the Caribbean nation and confiscated his passport.
Joshua Riibe, a senior at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota, was the last person believed to have been seen with Konanki on the morning she disappeared, March 6.
On Wednesday evening, NBC News spotted Riibe at Las Américas International Airport in Santo Domingo, the nation’s capital.
He was with a man who Riibe’s attorney’s have identified as his father. They were accompanied by a woman at the check in area who stayed behind as they went through the security screening.
NBC News spotted an airport employee assisting in boarding.
Riibe’s departure ends what his attorneys allege was a days-long detainment in the Dominican Republic as investigators questioned him in connection with Konanki’s disappearance.