A 22-year-old American college student is “ready to go home” after being linked to the disappearance of a 20-year-old female student. Joshua Riibe of Iowa, is a student at St. Cloud State College in Minnesota who was spending his spring break at RIU Hotel & Resort in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic when he and University of Pittsburgh student, Sudiksha Konanki, who was also on spring break at the hotel, went for a morning swim. Footage from the hotel showed the pair stop at the bar and then go to the beach arm in arm. It was the last time Konanki was seen.

According to Riibe, the water had been rough the morning of their swim and he’d had to pull Konanki out. The two had been kissing in the water when they were knocked around by a wave, forcing Riibe to try to pull her safety while he gulped down water. “”The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK. I didn’t hear her response because I began to vomit with all the water I had swallowed. After vomiting, I looked around and I didn’t see anything. I thought she had taken her things and left.”  Riibe then passed out on a beach chair. Konanki’s family now believes she drowned. Riibe was never officially a suspect, but his passport was taken by officials as he remained a person of interest. He stated police escorted him to and from his room and even sat with him during meals. Officials pushed back against claims that Riibe had been interrogated, with Riibe’s father, Albert Riibe, demanding his son be allowed to leave the country and return home. “Enough. It’s been 12 days,” his father said at a hearing. “I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been 10 days and I can’t leave. I’m just doing what I can, and at this point, there’s nothing more I can do,” Joshua Riibe told the judge.

Konanki’s family also released a statement asking Riibe be allowed to leave. “Both sides of the authorities have shown us how high the ocean waves were at the time of the incident, and both sides of the authorities have clarified the person of interest was not a suspect from the beginning. It is with deep sadness and a heavy heart that we are coming to terms with the fact our daughter has drowned,” they told The New York Post. Konanki’s mother reportedly met with Riibe and thanked him for saving her daughter “the first time.” They have asked for their daughter to be declared dead and asked for privacy as their family deals with the loss. “We still have two young children to care for and they’re at a very tender age. In light of this, we respectfully request some space, time and privacy to focus on healing and helping our children recover as we try to move forward with our lives,” said Subbarayudu Konanki. A judge ruled on Tuesday that Riibe was “free to leave.” Riibe is now attempting to obtain a new passport. “The U.S. Embassy is in communication with Mr. Riibe, his family, and his lawyer and is providing all appropriate consular assistance,” the Embassy told ABC News. A new passport would allow Riibe to leave the country.