PUNTA CANA, Dominican Republic — The man who was believed to be the last person to see missing University of Pittsburgh Student Sudiksha Konanki alive has been ordered to no longer be under police surveillance.

Joshua Riibe, 22, had not been charged with a crime but was considered a witness, prosecutors said.

His passport was confiscated and police followed him to meals, watching him eat he said.

He was kept in a hotel room and not allowed to leave he said.

“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. I understand I’m here to help, but it’s been 10 days and I can’t leave,” Riibe told the court.

His father traveled to the Dominican Republic to be there for his son.

A judge granted habeas corpus which released Riibe from police surveillance. His passport, however, was not returned.

Media outlets are not sure where the passport was.

Prosecutor Eduardo Velázquez told NBC News, “I don’t know about the passport.” When questioned further he replied in English, “I…I don’t speak Spanish… English.”

The National Police have not confirmed or denied that Riibe’s passport was confiscated.

The courts still have to decide if Riibe will face any charges or if he can leave the country. A meeting with the court is scheduled for March 28.

Dominican officials said they do not use the term “person of interest." The sheriff of Loudoun County, where Konanki lived, did. The sheriff’s office, despite having no jurisdiction, sent a team to help with the investigation in Punta Cana.

“Both sides of the authorities also clarified that the person of interest is not suspect from the beginning," Konanki’s father said.

The FBI also helped investigate.

Authorities have conducted aerial and underwater searches, as well as on land, and have not found anything.

Riibe said, “Her mother gave me a hug and said, ‘Thank you for saving my daughter the first time.’ It was really tough.”

Riibe and Konanki, 20, met hours before her disappearance. He said they went swimming in the ocean and kissed in waist-deep water before being hit by a wave before dawn on March 6 and pulled into the water deeper by the tide.

Riibe, who was a lifeguard, held onto her and got her out of the water.

“I was trying to make sure that she could breathe the entire time -- that prevented me from breathing the entire time and I took in a lot of water,” he said.

Once they got the beach under their feet, but were still in about knee-deep water, Konanki walked at an angle in the water to get her possessions that she had left on the beach.

“The last time I saw her, I asked her if she was OK. I didn’t hear her response because I began to vomit with all the water I had swallowed,” he said. “After vomiting, I looked around and I didn’t see anyone. I thought she had taken her things and left.”

Konanki’s family asked the Dominican authorities to declare their daughter dead.

Officials believe she drowned.

She was on the island with five friends as part of a spring break trip.

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