Man seen with missing Pittsburgh student returns to US, lawyer says

Joshua Riibe, the 22-year-old college student who was with University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki the night she went missing on a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic, returned to the United States overnight, according to his legal team.

Riibe obtained an emergency travel document from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic and local authorities allowed him to use it to leave the country, the lawyer said. Riibe's legal team confirmed he and his father were on a flight back to the U.S. on Wednesday night.

Riibe -- who is considered a witness and not a suspect in Konanki's disappearance -- had his passport and cellphone taken away as he was being interviewed by authorities over the last several days.

The news Riibe was returning immediately came after a source in the prosecutor's office had said earlier on Wednesday that Riibe would receive his passport back on Thursday.

Earlier, Riibe’s legal team confirmed to ABC News they were trying to get a new U.S. passport for Riibe from the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic so he could leave the country.

“The U.S. Embassy is in communication with Mr. Riibe, his family, and his lawyer and is providing all appropriate consular assistance,” the U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic told ABC News.

A Dominican judge ruled during a habeus corpus hearing Tuesday that Riibe is free to move without police surveillance around the Dominican Republic, because he is only a witness of an accident, not a suspect. But the judge did not give Riibe his passport back, because he said it was not in his jurisdiction to hand over the passport. The judge did not specify whose jurisdiction it is to give the passport back.

"I can't go anywhere. And I really want to be able to go home, talk to my family, give them hugs, tell them I miss them," Riibe said in court on Tuesday. "I understand I'm here to help, but it's been 10 days and I can't leave."

A spokesperson at the State Department said on Wednesday the agency is "aware of the situation" and takes "seriously our commitment to assist U.S. citizens abroad."

"There is no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens who are overseas. That matters to us," spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. "[Riibe's case] is a situation where I can't discuss certainly specifics, but we know that the U.S. Embassy is in communication with him and his family and his lawyer, and we are providing consular assistance as well."

Riibe said in court on Tuesday that he is "ready to go home and go back to my life."

Authorities have said they believe Konanki died by drowning in Punta Cana early on March 6, officials told ABC News.

Riibe, who met Konanki that night, told prosecutors the two went swimming and kissed in the ocean. The two were then hit by a wave and pulled into the ocean by the tide, according to a transcript provided to ABC News from two Dominican Republic sources.

Riibe said he held Konanki and tried to get them out of the water. He said he tried to "make sure she could breathe the entire time," which prevented Riibe from getting in enough air and he "took in a lot of water."

Once they touched the sand, Riibe told prosecutors Konanki got up to get her belongings, but "she was not out of the water since it was up to her knee" and was "walking at an angle in the water."

"The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK," he told prosecutors. "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 said he then passed out on a beach chair, woke up several hours later and returned to his hotel room.

Konanki's family sent a formal request on Monday to Dominican police requesting they declare their daughter dead, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.

On Tuesday evening, Dominican Republic's Civil Defense said they are significantly scaling back the search-and-rescue efforts.

The judge will decide if Riibe will be charged with anything in a full ruling on March 28.

ABC News' Shannon Kingston contributed to this report.