The body of missing college student Riley Strain has been recovered, police said Friday morning.
The body of missing college student Riley Strain has been recovered, police said Friday morning.
Strain, a University of Missouri student, went missing on March 8 after traveling to Nashville for a "private event." Family members reported Strain had gone out with fraternity members that night but was separated and hadn't been seen since.
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Just after 9:30 a.m. Friday, police said Strain's body was recovered from the Cumberland River, about 8 miles from downtown Nashville.
"No foul play-related trauma was observed," Metro Nashville PD wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
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An autopsy was pending.
The river had been a focus of search efforts since Strain's disappearance. Authorities had recently searched from both air and water this week at a dam located more than 40 miles from downtown Nashville.
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In one of the more recent developments, Strain's bank card was discovered in an embankment along the Cumberland River. The card was located Sunday afternoon between Gay Street and the Cumberland River, though police said it does not appear Strain was robbed and no new charges have been made on any of his accounts.
Two TikTokers were live streaming their search efforts in the area when they appeared to find the card, though police did not say how the card was found.
The discovery marked one of the first findings released in the case outside of two videos showing Strain the night he disappeared.
On Monday, Nashville police released video of an encounter Strain had with an officer in the minutes before he was last seen.
The short clip, which was posted to social media, showed Strain walking down Gay Street near the Cumberland River just before 10 p.m.
The officer, who had been called to the area for a report of a vehicle burglary, police said, asks Strain how he is doing. Strain replies, "I'm good, how are you?" and continues walking down the street.
"Riley did not appear distressed," police wrote in their post.
The department added that "no video has been discovered that shows Riley away from Gay Street after the 9:52 p.m. timeframe."
“To those who are saying that they believe he could have been in distress, that somebody could have been after him as he walked onto Gay Street, well, as you see in the video, he’s walking by himself on the river side and speaks to a police officer as the officer is looking at a vehicle that had been broken into," police spokesperson Don Aaron said.
The footage is the second video released by police showing Strain the night he went missing -- both captured within minutes of each other.
Video released last week also captured the young student crossing 1st Avenue North toward Gay Street just before 10 p.m. that night.
In that footage, Strain is seen wearing a two-tone shirt, which apears black on one side and cream or white on the other. He is seen standing in front of a road closed sign before following a group of people walking across the same street. He appears to stop and turn back multiple times before walking out of view of the camera, at times possibly losing his balance.
The United Cajun Navy, a nonprofit that organizes search and rescue teams during natural disasters, also recently joined in the search for Strain.
According to Nashville police, Strain was last seen on March 8 by friends at a Broadway bar. The University of Missouri senior was visiting the city on a trip with fraternity Delta Chi, which was reportedly for a spring formal.
Strain’s mother, Michelle Whiteid, and his stepfather, Chris Whiteid, drove to Nashville from Springfield, Missouri, after they learned he disappeared.
“I just need to know where my son is,” Michelle Whiteid said. “We talk every day, multiple times a day. This is the longest I’ve ever gone without talking to him. It’s devastating. I just want to find him and hug him.”
After the bus ride from Columbia, Strain and some of his fraternity brothers went out, according to Chris Whiteid. Strain was asked to leave a bar, and they got separated, he said.
That bar was Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, which is owned by country singer Luke Bryan.
The bar told NBC News in a statement last week that security kicked Strain out at about 9:35 p.m. “based on our conduct standards," but noted that Strain was served only one alcoholic drink and two waters. Further details on why he was kicked out have not been released.
After his removal from the bar, Chris Whiteid said fraternity members tried to reach Strain.
“The boys called him, and he said, ‘I’m walking back to my hotel,’" Chris Whiteid said. “They didn’t think anything about it.”
But Chris Whiteid said the fast turn of events raises questions.
He told NBC News that Strain FaceTimed his mother that same evening between 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Chris Whiteid said Strain called from Garth Brooks' Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk, though he also noted he and his fraternity brothers had already stopped at Miranda Lambert's Casa Rosa.
Strain's stepfather said Strain "didn’t even sound like he had been drinking a lot" and texted his mother coherently in the hour or so after the call ended.
“I’ve done a fair amount of drinking in my life, and I still question whether it was alcohol or something else," Whiteid said, referring to how Strain appeared to have lost control of his balance in some of the security video.
The family has received numerous reports of "horror stories" from people claiming they were drugged at bars in Nashville, though authorities have said no evidence of foul play has been discovered so far.
"I want Riley to know: We're actively looking for you, son," Chris Whiteid said. "We're going to bring you home."
University of Missouri officials said in a statement that they were alerted of Strain's disappearance.
"The university has been in touch with the family and authorities in Nashville who are working to find Strain," the University of Missouri said in a release last week, noting that counseling resources were being made available to students.
Strain is described as being 6 feet, 5 inches tall with a thin build, blue eyes and light brown hair.
Police asked anyone with information on Strain's whereabouts to call (615)-742-7463. The school also encouraged those with information to call the MU Police Department at (573)-882-7201.
