As Americans plan spring break trips abroad after U.S. student Sudiksha Konanki’s disappearance, a Secret Service veteran and travel safety expert offered guidance for staying safe on vacation.  

“I think when we talk about travel security, whether it’s study abroad or for spring break, there’s a number of things that students, or anybody, needs to be careful of when they’re going to these types of locations,” Bobby McDonald, a Secret Service agent for more than 20 years with experience on presidential, vice presidential and dignitary protection, told Fox News Digital. 

Konanki, a 20-year-old University of Pittsburgh student from Virginia who was on spring break in the Dominican Republic, disappeared from the Riu Republica Resort in Punta Cana in the early morning hours of March 6.  

The last known footage of Konanki came from a security camera and showed her walking with a group of people toward the beach at her resort in Punta Cana. It was considered a missing person case, not a criminal one, authorities said.

Disappearances of women like Konanki and Natalee Holloway, who vanished in Aruba in 2005 during a high school graduation trip, have become high-profile cases over the years. Men are not immune from these travel safety guidelines, though, McDonald warned.

“I think, traditionally, we think it’s more women being targeted,” he said. “But, no, I think men are just as susceptible to nefarious activity at locations like this as women are. They’ve got to be very careful as well.” 

People enjoy time on the beach at the RIU Republica Resort in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, March 13, 2025. (Santiago Baez for Fox News Digital)

While men who are the last to be seen with a missing woman are often the subject of intense scrutiny, McDonald said security surveillance is now a prevalent part of everyday life, which should give them a measure of comfort. 

People enjoy a day at Playa Delfines beach at the Hotel Zone of Cancun, Quintana Roo State, Mexico, Nov. 8, 2022.  (Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images)

“​​There are security cameras everywhere now,” he said. “So, whether you’re on a street corner in New York City, whether you’re at the Punta Cana resort, there’s security cameras everywhere. So, if you’re not doing anything you shouldn’t be doing, you don’t have anything to worry about. But remember too that a lot of places don’t have full coverage of security cameras. In other words, there are bits and pieces along the way.”