I really want to be able to go home, talk to my family, give them hugs, tell them I miss them,” Riibe told Judge Elvis Delgado.

Joshua Riibe's return to the U.S. remains unclear as there was no immediate decision about returning his passport, which authorities confiscated last week.

A judge in the Dominican Republic on Tuesday granted a request for freedom for Joshua Steven Riibe, who investigators believe was the last person to see US college student Sudiksha Konanki alive nearly two weeks ago.

Sudiksha Konanki's parents said Dominican Republic 'authorities have concluded that Sudiksha is believed to have drowned'

Nearly 2 weeks after an Iowa man was the last person seen with a missing University of Pittsburgh student, the man is going to court to challenge the way author