Strain was last sighted by friends on March 8 after being requested to leave a bar in downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
On Friday, the Nashville, Tennessee, police reported the discovery of the body of Riley Strain, a senior at the University of Missouri, who had been missing since March 8 after a night out in downtown.
The authorities stated that Strain’s body was retrieved from the Cumberland River in West Nashville on Friday morning, approximately 8 miles from the city center. The police mentioned on platform X that there were no signs of trauma related to foul play, and an autopsy is currently underway.
Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake shared in a press conference on Friday morning, “This morning, around 7:28 a.m., we received a call from a worker on 61st Avenue, at a company adjacent to the Cumberland River, who had been on the lookout for anything that might surface on the river, particularly in search of Riley Strain. As they were extracting an object from the river, they identified what seemed to be Riley Strain.”
Strain’s body was recovered from the river by the fire department, and his remains were examined by the medical examiner’s office. Drake stated that Strain’s family has been notified.
“Based on the examination conducted at the riverbank, there are currently no indications of foul play,” stated Drake. “Mr. Strain was still wearing the shirt he had on, along with his watch and other identifying items that assisted us in confirming his identity.”
Riley Strain, a 22-year-old finance student, was in Nashville for his fraternity’s spring formal trip when he disappeared. He had been socializing with friends at Luke Bryan’s downtown bar, Luke’s 32, located on Broadway, when he was asked to leave by the staff.
According to the police, the last signal from his phone was detected around Gay Street, which is adjacent to the Cumberland River.
The Nashville police have released a video that shows Strain interacting with a police officer on Gay Street. This occurred while the officer was inspecting parked vehicles for indications of a reported vehicle burglary, just prior to Strain’s disappearance.
The police shared on platform X that Riley was seen briefly interacting with Officer Reginald Young on Gay Street, south of the Woodland Street Bridge, on the night of March 8. Riley did not seem to be in distress. Officer Young was there responding to a vehicle burglary call and stayed in that part of Gay Street for 45 minutes. The police also mentioned that no video footage has been found showing Riley leaving Gay Street after 9:52 p.m.
Luke’s 32 stated in a statement that Strain was served one drink by bartenders before being asked to leave by staff.
“At 9:35 p.m., our security team decided, based on our conduct standards, to escort him from the venue through our Broadway exit at the front of our building,” the bar said in a statement on March 15. “He was accompanied down the stairs by one member of his party. The person with Riley did not exit and returned upstairs.”
Following his departure from the bar, Strain informed his friends that he would return to their accommodations at Tempo by Hilton, which is approximately five blocks away from Luke’s 32, as initially reported by FOX 17.
When his friends didn’t encounter him again at the hotel later that evening, they reported him missing, as stated by Strain’s cousin, Chelsea Strain, to Fox News Digital.
Authorities are still investigating how Strain ended up walking in the opposite direction of his hotel. According to family spokesperson Chris Dingman, it’s possible that he may have entered the wrong destination into a map on his phone. However, authorities are exploring all possibilities.
Strain’s family flew to Nashville and joined the search efforts immediately after his friends reported him missing.