During a visit to the resort in the Dominican Republic, a traveler who was there the same day Sudiksha Konanki, a University of Pittsburgh student, went missing, revealed that there was minimal communication from the hotel regarding beach safety. This lack of information left guests to rely on their own judgment. 

In an interview with NewsNation, D’Lani Sweeney shared insights while the search continues for the 20-year-old who vanished after heading to the beach early on a Thursday morning at the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana, as reported by La Policia Nacional, the nation’s police force. Recently, ABC News suggested that there is a possibility that Konanki may have drowned, based on information from law enforcement sources. 

“I noticed that the waves were unusually large that day. My friends and I were at the beach, and I recall expressing my reluctance to enter the ocean. I am a swimmer, but I didn’t feel confident enough in those conditions,” Sweeney recounted. “Some of my friends went in, but they didn’t stay long, and overall, there were fewer people in the water compared to usual.”

“There was no communication from the resort at all of, you know, this is our beach safety, to be safe. It was kind of just left up to your own discretion,” she added. “One night there was like a security guard whistling at people to come in from the beach that were going in, but that was the only night that I had seen it and we went practically almost every day down to the beach to take pictures.” 

Sudiksha Konanki appears in an undated photo on her TikTok profile. She was last seen on March 6 at a resort beach in Punta Cana. (@sudikshakonanki/TikTok)

“Our team is providing full support to the authorities in the search, and an emergency protocol has been activated to ensure that all necessary measures are taken. Additionally, we have established an internal communication channel so that any of our employees, across our five hotels in Punta Cana, who may have relevant information can share it with us or the authorities,” RIU Hotels also said. 

Konanki is originally from India but is a legal permanent U.S. resident from Loudoun County, near Washington, D.C., according to authorities. She is 5 feet, 3 inches tall, with black hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a brown bikini, hoop earrings, bracelets and an anklet. 

Dominican police have said they are investigating one of Konanki’s friends and are looking to corroborate claims from a “young man” who was also in the water on the day of her disappearance. 

A member of the civil defense canine unit searches on Monday for Sudiksha Konanki, a university student from the U.S. who disappeared on a beach in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, last week. (AP/Francesco Spotorno)

When asked if there is any reason to suspect foul play, a spokesperson for the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office in Virginia told Fox News Digital, “We have to consider all possibilities and U.S. law enforcement is looking at everything.” 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.