Joshua Riibe, a man seen with the missing Pittsburgh student, will receive the passport, prosecutors say

Joshua Riibe, the 22 -year -old University student Who was with the student of the University of Pittsburgh Sudiksha Konanki the night he disappeared on a spring vacation to the Dominican Republic, will return to the United States on Wednesday night, according to a source in the local police.

Riibe obtained an emergency travel document from the United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic and local authorities allowed him to use it to leave the country, said the source.

Riibe, who considers himself a witness and not suspicious in Konanki’s disappearance, took his passport and cell phone when he was interviewed by the authorities in recent days.

The news Riibe returned immediately occurred after a source in the prosecutor had said Wednesday that Riibe would receive his passport on Thursday.

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Previously, the Riibes legal team confirmed to ABC News that they were trying to obtain a new American passport for Riibe from the United States Embassy in the Dominican Republic to be able to leave the country.

“The United States Embassy is in communication with Mr. Riibe, his family and his lawyer and is providing all appropriate consular assistance,” said the United States embassy in the Dominican Republic to ABC News.

A Dominican judge ruled during a Hayeus Corpus hearing on Tuesday that Riibe is free to move without police surveillance around the Dominican Republic, because he is only witnessing an accident, not suspected. But the judge did not return his passport to Riibe, because he said he was not in his jurisdiction to deliver the passport. The judge did not specify who the jurisdiction is to return the passport.

“I can’t go anywhere. And I really want to go home, talk to my family, give them hugs, tell them that I miss them,” Riibe said in court on Tuesday. “I understand that I am here to help, but they have spent 10 days and I can’t leave.”

A state department spokesman said Wednesday that the agency is “aware of the situation” and takes “seriously our commitment to help US citizens abroad.”

“There is no higher priority than the safety of US citizens who are abroad. That matters to us,” said spokesman Tammy Bruce. “(Riibe’s case) It is a situation in which I cannot certainly discuss details, but we know that the United States embassy is in communication with him, his family and his lawyer, and we are also providing consular assistance. “

Riibe said in court on Tuesday that he is “ready to go home and return to my life.”

The authorities have said that they believe that Konanki died drowning in Punta Cana at the beginning of March 6, authorities told ABC News.

Riibe, who met Konanki that night, told prosecutors that the two went to swim and kissed the ocean. Then, the two were beaten by a wave and dragged into the ocean by the tide, according to a transcription provided to ABC News of two sources from the Dominican Republic.

Riibe said he held Konanki and tried to get them out of the water. He said he tried to “make sure she could breathe all the time”, which prevented Riibe from being airing enough and he “drinks a lot of water.”

Once they touched the sand, Riibe told prosecutors that Konanki got up to obtain his belongings, but “he was not out of the water since he was knee” and was “walking at an angle in the water.”

“The last time I saw her, I asked if it was fine,” he told prosecutors. “I didn’t hear his answer because I began to vomit with all the water I had swallowed. After vomiting, I looked around and I saw nothing. I thought I had taken his things and left.”

Riibe said he later passed out in a beach chair, woke up several hours later and returned to his hotel room.

Konanki’s family sent a formal application on Monday to the Dominican Police requesting that they declare their dead daughteraccording to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.

On Tuesday night, the Civil Defense of the Dominican Republic said they are significantly reducing search and rescue efforts.

The judge will decide if Riibe will be accused of something in a complete decision on March 28.

Shannon Kingston of ABC News contributed to this report.