College Student Last Seen with Sudiksha Konanki Returns to the U.S.

The American college student who was the last person to see Sudiksha Konanki alive is finally back home in the U.S.

Joshua Riibe, 22, was issued a new passport at the U.S. Consulate and has returned to the U.S. with his father, the law firm Guzmán Ariza confirmed to PEOPLE on Wednesday, March 19.

“On March 18th, following the conclusion of the habeas corpus hearing that ordered the release of our client, Joshua Riibe, the Prosecutor’s Office of La Altagracia informed him of their readiness to return his passport,” the lawyers said in a statement. “While Joshua appreciated this decision, he chose, for privacy reasons, to apply for a new passport at the U.S. Consulate, which was promptly issued.”

“We are pleased to announce that Joshua and his father are currently traveling back to their home in the United States,” the lawyers said, before later confirming that he has arrived.

The Iowa native expressed his desire to return home during a March 18 court hearing, which ended with the judge ruling he would no longer be kept under police surveillance and that he was not considered a person of interest in the disappearance of Konanki.

Subsequently, Riibe struggled to reclaim his passport, but on March 19, prosecutors agreed to return Riibe’s travel documents.

The U.S. State Department stepped in to assist Riibe in his quest to return home.

A spokesperson for the agency told PEOPLE that consular staff attended Riibe’s hearing on March 18, but declined to offer further comment on their efforts “due to privacy and other considerations.”

It had been unclear at that time if Riibe would be allowed to leave the country once his passport was returned to him on March 20 or if he might have to remain in the Dominican Republic for an additional week.

The judge’s order seemed to suggest Riibe was free to leave once he obtained his passport. Thomas Julia of the Loudon County Sheriff’s Department told PEOPLE that there was a possibility that the college student would have to stay on the island until his next court hearing scheduled for March 28.

Riibe will also be able to move freely around the country, having largely been confined to his hotel in Punta Cana and trailed by police on the few occasions he was allowed to leave the property prior to the March 18 ruling.

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Police declared Riibe a person of interest in the disappearance of Konanki, 20, shortly after the University of Pittsburgh student went missing earlier this month. Since then, police have clarified they believe Konanki drowned and no foul play is suspected.

Konanki’s parents, Subbarayudu and Sreedevi Konanki, now believe that their daughter drowned in the rough currents after she and Riibe went swimming in the early morning hours of March 6.

PEOPLE obtained a copy of the letter Konanki’s parents sent to authorities in the Dominican Republic earlier this week requesting a death declaration, and saying that they do not believe Riibe is responsible for the death of their daughter.

“The individual last seen with her is cooperating with the investigation, and no evidence of foul play has been found,” wrote the couple.