Indian student Sudiksha Konanki went missing in the Dominican Republic on March 6 and her parents have shocking request to the authorities: "Declare her dead".
This comes as multiple agencies searched for the missing student for the past 11 days. The authorities had earlier hinted that Konanki might have drowned in the ocean.
Konanki, 20, studying at the University of Pittsburgh, is an Indian citizen and a permanent resident in the US. She lives in Chantilly, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC.
Konanki's clothes were found on the beach in Punta Cana, her last known location.
And now the parents, Subbarayudu and Sreedevi, have given a formal request to the National Police in Dominican Republic to declare her dead legally, saying they have accepted the "deeply painful" reality, according to sources quoted by the Daily Mail.
They pointed out that though the declaration would not "truly ease our grief", it could bring them some closure and help them honour her memory.
Talking about Joshua Riibe, 22, who was seen with Konanki before her disappearance, the family said he cooperated with the police fully, adding that they don't believe there is a foul play.
Earlier, the family had claimed that since the girl's body was not found, she might not have drowned. They urged the authorities to probe kidnapping angles and widen their search area.
Riibe who last saw Konanki told police that they were hit by a huge wave when they went for a swim. He also alleged that he used his lifeguard training to bring her back to the shore. However, he said he later passed out on a sun bed in the beach and never saw Konanki again.