TN RILEY STRAIN: Missing from Nashville, TN - 8 March 2024 - Age 22 *Found Deceased*

Man, 22, reported missing after being kicked out of Luke Bryan's Nashville bar

A man is missing after he was kicked out of a popular bar on lower Broadway last Friday, Metro Police confirm.

fox17.com

College senior, 22, reported missing after walking off from Luke Bryan's Nashville bar
A family is frantically searching for their son, a University of Missouri student, who hasn't been seen since last Friday after leaving a Broadway bar. Metro Police report Riley Strain, 22, left Luke Bryan’s bar at 301 Broadway, intoxicated, after he was asked to leave.

Strain is a senior at the university, majoring in finance. As of Tuesday, he has been missing for four days.

Strain traveled with his fraternity brothers to Nashville for a convention. He told his friends he’d walk back to their hotel, the Tempo by Hilton, about five blocks away. The bar staff felt he had too much to drink, according to his family. Strain's stepfather Chris Whiteid said there was no hostility.

However, it appears Strain went in the opposite direction when he left, about 9:45 p.m. His cell phone last pinged around 10 to 10:30 p.m. near Public Square Park, close to Gay Street and the river.

Strain’s phone pinged on the Life360 and Snapchat apps, and from Verizon’s tower about 30 to 45 minutes after he left the bar. However, Strain’s phone has not been active since.

When Strain’s friends returned to the hotel later that night, they assumed he was in another room. However, the next morning, when they realized Strain had not returned, they called his parents and police.

Strain’s family drove immediately from Missouri when they were told he was missing. Metro police and Strain’s relatives combed nearby streets downtown, parking garages, hospitals, and along the river. However, there has been no reported sign of the young man, who is 6 feet 7 inches, and about 160 pounds, according to his stepfather.

Police release surveillance video of missing Mizzou student last seen in Nashville

Nashville police released surveillance video of a missing University of Missouri student on Tuesday.

abc7chicago.com

Police release surveillance video of missing Mizzou student last seen in Nashville​

Nashville police released surveillance video of a missing University of Missouri student on Tuesday.

The video was captured Friday night, when 22-year-old Riley Strain disappeared.

In the video, Strain, seen in a two-toned shirt, crosses the street (right to left across the screen), checking his phone. He stops and changes directions for a minute before proceeding down the street.


MEDIA - RILEY STRAIN: Missing from Nashville, TN - 8 March 2024 - Age 22

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Consider the source:

Riley Strain's Family Thinks He's Still Alive, Bringing In Cajun Navy

Riley Strain's family is 100% confident that their loved one is still alive somewhere -- and they're frustrated with cops' search efforts ... demanding extra boots on the ground.

www.tmz.com

RILEY STRAINFAMILY THINKS HE'S STILL ALIVE ...Want Feds on the Ground​

Riley Strain's family is 100% confident that their loved one is still alive somewhere -- and they're frustrated with cops' search efforts ... demanding extra boots on the ground.

We talked to the Strain family spokesperson, Chris Dingman, Tuesday and he told us straight up ... Riley's parents, simply don't believe their son is dead -- this despite most of the public starting to assume that's the case at this point.

Even though it's been well over a week since Riley first vanished in Nashville after bar hopping with his friends -- Dingman says the family is hopeful ... but more than that, they're irked that much of Nashville PD's investigating has been focused mostly on the river nearby.

There's a few reasons why Dingman says the Strains feel this way -- for one, he says the river just isn't that deep, and it doesn't appear to have been roaring on the night he disappeared. So, in their eyes, him falling in and being swept away doesn't seem plausible.

Dingman also tells us that from the family's POV, cops haven't turned over every possible stone in trying to track him down -- claiming there are businesses along the river bank with surveillance video that weren't approached until very recently ... so, slow going at best.

While the Strains appreciate the police's help and diligence thus far -- we're told they think it's time to call in the cavalry and get extra assistance in helping find Riley sooner rather than later.

Nashville PD has already said they're prepared to call in the feds if it proves necessary. Dingman says the Strains think that time has come ... and that the sweep for Riley needs to expand well beyond just the river search that's been going on these past few days.

Of course, Riley's bank card was found there -- which is probably why this is a focal point in the effort -- but Dingman says his mom and dad want other possibilities looked into.

He doesn't have an exact idea of where he may be or what happened to him, but based on eyewitness accounts that continue to crop up day after day ... it sounds like people might've possibly been with him during the last known moments of him being out and about.

The other odd thing that's not quite tracking for the Strains is that when Riley was walking by the police officer -- he came across as coherent and normal, but other surveillance videos captured him looking inebriated and out of it. So the family doesn't know what's what here.

The one thing they do know ... they want answers, and soon. The Strains have been in Nashville for several days now -- and the longer Riley is missing, the more anxious they get.​

 

[Guess Who]

New details raise questions in mysterious disappearance of college student Riley Strain

Video released by police this week shows some of the final moments before University of Missouri student Riley Strain disappeared in Nashville late last week.

www.nbcchicago.com

New details raise questions in disappearance of college student Riley Strain​

The mystery surrounding the disappearance fo 22-year-old college student Riley Strain continues to grow as new details about the night he went missing are released.


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.


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."

Authorities confirmed to NBC News that Strain's bank card was found on an embankment between Gay Street and the Cumberland River on Sunday, though they said it does not appear that the student was robbed and no new charges have been made on any of his accounts.

A LOT of drinking can happen between 8-10pm and a lot might have happened right before the last facetime with his parents and it just hadn't hit him yet.

 

[Guess Who]

Consider the source:

Riley Strain's Family Thinks He's Still Alive, Bringing In Cajun Navy

Riley Strain's family is 100% confident that their loved one is still alive somewhere -- and they're frustrated with cops' search efforts ... demanding extra boots on the ground.

www.tmz.com

RILEY STRAINFAMILY THINKS HE'S STILL ALIVE ...Want Feds on the Ground​

Riley Strain's family is 100% confident that their loved one is still alive somewhere -- and they're frustrated with cops' search efforts ... demanding extra boots on the ground.​

​

We talked to the Strain family spokesperson, Chris Dingman, Tuesday and he told us straight up ... Riley's parents, simply don't believe their son is dead -- this despite most of the public starting to assume that's the case at this point.​

​

Even though it's been well over a week since Riley first vanished in Nashville after bar hopping with his friends -- Dingman says the family is hopeful ... but more than that, they're irked that much of Nashville PD's investigating has been focused mostly on the river nearby.​

​

There's a few reasons why Dingman says the Strains feel this way -- for one, he says the river just isn't that deep, and it doesn't appear to have been roaring on the night he disappeared. So, in their eyes, him falling in and being swept away doesn't seem plausible.​

​

Dingman also tells us that from the family's POV, cops haven't turned over every possible stone in trying to track him down -- claiming there are businesses along the river bank with surveillance video that weren't approached until very recently ... so, slow going at best.​

​

While the Strains appreciate the police's help and diligence thus far -- we're told they think it's time to call in the cavalry and get extra assistance in helping find Riley sooner rather than later.​

​

Nashville PD has already said they're prepared to call in the feds if it proves necessary. Dingman says the Strains think that time has come ... and that the sweep for Riley needs to expand well beyond just the river search that's been going on these past few days.​

​

Of course, Riley's bank card was found there -- which is probably why this is a focal point in the effort -- but Dingman says his mom and dad want other possibilities looked into.​

​

He doesn't have an exact idea of where he may be or what happened to him, but based on eyewitness accounts that continue to crop up day after day ... it sounds like people might've possibly been with him during the last known moments of him being out and about.​

​

The other odd thing that's not quite tracking for the Strains is that when Riley was walking by the police officer -- he came across as coherent and normal, but other surveillance videos captured him looking inebriated and out of it. So the family doesn't know what's what here.​

​

The one thing they do know ... they want answers, and soon. The Strains have been in Nashville for several days now -- and the longer Riley is missing, the more anxious they get.​

I've seen some pretty remarkable "sobering up" when a cop comes into view. We didn't see enough of that to see how long it might or might not have lasted.

Side note...those cowboy boots might have been part of his staggering more in places than others. Depending on how slick the soles were and how the heel was made, they can catch on changes in the sidewalk, etc. I hadn't thought about those until I heard his kind of sound that dragging the heel of those makes.

 

[RoundPeg]

I wonder how deep the river is at his last known point. Let's face it, being drunk, wearing blue jeans and boots isn't overly helpful if you fall into a river.

 

[RoundPeg]

Dangers of the Cumberland River: How water depth, current and temperature impact people

Officials have been searching the Cumberland River in Nashville for a missing Missouri college student. How safe is the river?

www.tennessean.com

The area where Strain was last seen was in a brushy area with cliffs that would make it nearly impossible for the missing student to have fallen into the river, Loney said, but the failed boat searches on Tuesday and Wednesday have raised some serious concerns about the safety of river, itself, concerns that one Nashville business owner couldn't help but raise.

"Undertows can be present anytime there is wind and strong currents in river systems. However, typically through the downtown area, the river is narrow, and the river current is the greater danger. A strong river current alone could cause even a good swimmer difficulty in getting back to the shoreline if they were to fall in," Landrum said.


Cumberland Kayak & Adventure Company operations manager Dylan Schultz said there are several variables that could cause even more danger for those navigating the river.

Among those issues is how fast the water travels.

Water velocity on March 8, when Strain was last seen, was measured at 3.81 feet per second, according to United States Geological Survey (USGS) data. Velocity peaked at 10:30 a.m. on March 9, when it was measured at 4.0 feet per second.



"Day-to-day, the current varies," Schultz said. His company operates along a three-mile stretch of the Cumberland between Shelby Park and the downtown area. "It's not usually at a level where it is swift, but it would be difficult to swim against the current."

For those who are curious, the Cumberland's current runs west and northwest through Nashville, Schultz noted.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration defines swift currents as those with speeds of up to 8 feet per second.


But water velocity isn't the only factor to consider on the river. Depth is also important.

On March 8, the USGS reported that the river was 24.66 feet deep at 10 p.m. It has since changed, with the water level rising to 20.71 feet as of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the USGS said.


Despite those readings, Schultz said much of the Cumberland River is shallow enough to stand in. He estimates the average person can stand in the river anywhere between 10-15 feet from shore.

But, watch out, 'it does drop off quickly," he warned.

Perhaps the biggest challenge someone in the river might face, especially at night, comes from the transportation barges that float along the Cumberland combined with low air temperatures.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

I don't think river speed or depth are huge factors with a person in an impaired state.

 

[RoundPeg]

I don't think river speed or depth are huge factors with a person in an impaired state.

I don’t either.

 

[Guess Who]

How are these people saying it would be nearly impossible for him to fall into the river from and area they are describing as "brushy cliffs"? That seems like his most likely way out if he fell down one of those areas would be to go down to the bank or water and hope for an easier way up. Seems like those would be the places he might have went in without anybody noticing.

 

[Guess Who]

I don't think river speed or depth are huge factors with a person in an impaired state.

Plus that water has to be COLD right now. Even not impaired and add that current, that could be disaster for anybody falling in.

 

[RoundPeg]

How are these people saying it would be nearly impossible for him to fall into the river from and area they are describing as "brushy cliffs"? That seems like his most likely way out if he fell down one of those areas would be to go down to the bank or water and hope for an easier way up. Seems like those would be the places he might have went in without anybody noticing.

You could bounce the whole way down.

 

[Guess Who]

You could bounce the whole way down.

Exactly. Then once you stop, you can't get back to the bank. Up is the issue. Not down.

 

[GrandmaBear]

I have to say when I watched the bodycam video with the officer, my first thought is he seemed nothing like he had in the other video footage. Granted yes, if one sees an officer they are going to try to act sober, nonshady and all of that but you have to be able to function at all to do that and he appeared to have little stability or steadiness in the other footage, etc. And he hit a pole and some even thought a concussion or some injury. There is also if he saw the cop or flashing lights ahead of time 9no way to know if he did), if concerned, he could have avoided him, crossed the street, turned, etc. and he didn't. He seems night and day different in the two videos not that that short clip was a lot but still, and his parents say he FaceTimed and didn't seem all plastered either. And then even texted. Not sure what to think... I think I said in another post that people have said drinks are prohibitively expensive in these "star" establishments so did he even have any out and just some before they went out? Don't know...

I've not thought the news is going to be good here for some time but last night for some reason, I all of a sudden had something hit me that bears a similarity to some other cases where a young adult child has gone missing but they did so by choice. Then another thing or two I put with that had me wondering if he couldn't be alive... I'm not sold on it but there's just a few things that could line up with that. I'm not going to say them but I see some similarities/reasons. It would seem unlikely since he was having fun, on spring break and near graduating where hed' be free and starting out. I wonder how his grades were recently. Probably good in which case one wouldn't think he'd blow finishing school and I'd change my mind if that were the case of such being a possibility then most likely. However, if one gets a job in their field just ahead of graduating by a couple of months, don't they allow it and grant the degree...? Or do I have that wrong? Kaylee had one in the U of ID case, a job, and was going to go back to graduate I believe. Just some thoughts on one of the only scenarios that may find he is alive. I find it odd he was one way where clearly there were cameras most likely and seemed totally different when encountering the cop. He also did not lose apparently his driver's liicense, etc., just his debit or bank card. His phone's off and not found right? I can tell you this and I don't know about others but I dont' take a purse to work as there is nowhere to store it safely so each day I have with me a debit card, a credit card and my driver's license and they are all in the same pocket. It's never likely I'd lose just one. I"ve done similar but different on trips which also includes then cash and maybe not a pocket but something I put it in and hen have it in a tote with other necessities depending on where and the activity. I leave ALL other cards and such at home when on a trip. Anyhow, I for one find it odd he somehow lost only his card when he would have also needed ID for the bars. Unless this is the reason he was booted, he didn't have one/had lost it. Doesn't seem so though.

I also have to wonder how safe this area is and what it's like. All cities have bad areas. We know there were homeless and it sounds as if they interacted. We also know a cop had responded to a break in of a vehicle and that shows crime in the area. By the way do cops there respond alone or was there a partner with? He could have easily been forced into a car or robbed of his wallet , they threw the debit card to make it look like a river thing or he tossed it to leave a clue while being forced...? This tall kid walking could easily have gotten attention of a car with bad arses in it seeing him head alone in what direction...It's too bad, it really is, that he didn't ask the officer to help him get back to his hotel. Did he even know he wasn't going in the right direction yet...?

 

[GrandmaBear]

How are these people saying it would be nearly impossible for him to fall into the river from and area they are describing as "brushy cliffs"? That seems like his most likely way out if he fell down one of those areas would be to go down to the bank or water and hope for an easier way up. Seems like those would be the places he might have went in without anybody noticing.

If you watch the one I linked some days ago by the family friend or spokesperson he explained the unlikelihood of this and how hard it would be for such to happen especially in the shape it seemed as if Riley was in at that time based on the first videos. He describes it and I believe the young woman he did the video with (I saw it on YT but think she may also be a TIk Tokker) may well be the one who found the debit card. She was doing searches FOR THE FAMILY as she's in the area. She agreed it wouldn't be an easy thing to happen.

However, that has been a few days back and I don't know if they knew of the cop video then where he seems not nearly as messed up or of where his last sighting was but I think they did know more than we did.

I'm not sold that this kid is in the river. It certainly was a thought and one I even leaned towards after seeing his condition but after watching that video, it changed a fair bit. It isn't an uncommon thing in such cases but it certainly isn['t necessarily always the answer either or the thing to jump to and even then whether foul play, accident or suicide in such cases is sometimes never known.

I think there are other possibilities here. Maybe he is in the water but it sounds like it would take some effort by him as it would by anyone placing him there unless they did it elsewhere but again I dont' know if they were talking the exact same location then but I believe they were or close to it...Suffice it to say you don't just fall into the water where they were talking, you'd have to get down to it first with steps, brush and more or so it sounded, terraced I believe, slope with obstacles, etc. Been a few days since I watched it but she was from there and he was there with the family who has been all along I believe.

 

[RoundPeg]

Does anyone here have a debit card with your name on the back? Is that actually a bank debit card or a college card like you would use in the cafeteria, to swipe into dorms, etc ?

NVM. I think it from Arvest Bank, it's an actual bank.

 

[SheWhoMustNotBeNamed]

Riley Strain’s phone had power, ‘did not die’: Family friend

At a news conference, Nashville police said the search for Riley Strain will continue until they find the young man.

www.newsnationnow.com

Riley Strain’s phone had power, ‘did not die’: Family friend​

A close friend of missing Mizzou student Riley Strain‘s family said the 22-year old’s phone had battery power when it went dark, contradicting initial assumptions.

“That is something that we have been able to find and verify. Riley did have battery power at the time his phone went dark. What we have been told is the phone did not die due to battery capacity,” Chris Dingman said during a Tuesday interview on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”


Additionally, Dingman disclosed that Strain’s removal from the bar was not due to confrontations but rather a conversation with an employee.

“There was no argument … Riley was actually trying to do a good deed,” Dingman said. “They felt like, you know, maybe he had had enough.”

 

[GrandmaBear]

This is the one I went to watch but they also had one on Soto tonight so I sidetracked to that one first. Not finished with this one yet but already well worth it. Have to head for bed soon.

 

[GrandmaBear]

When given a chance to ask the experts, LE guys, etc., anything she asked how typical it is to find just something on its own like a bank card. I had the same question earlier here. Interesting answer.

 

[GrandmaBear]

Oh and I almost forgot,he already did have a job offer/job prior to graduation...

 

[GrandmaBear]

The last time his phone pinged as a mile before his last location if I recall right from what I watched last night. I didn't think he walked that far so maybe I have that wrong. I think that's what they said. I crammed in several long shows and was tired. Regardless, the point was that the last pings were not where he last was.. That would lead me away from a thought that I had that perhaps if the phone and him hit the water, it then died.

So now they say it had charge, not sure how they'd know that but they're saying then that it was shut off or something? Not sure how that all works, no phone expert. I know they have the family app or 360 app or whatever it is.

My debit card has my name on it, never had one that doesn't. I still info it odd that's all that was found. Or I should say that volunteer searchers found who were looking on their own.

I find it odd that it really still isn't clear why he was removed from the bar and friends were not allowed out with him. If true. I've heard varying accounts and it's rather hard to believe he'd be the only one that night that might seem overserved, again if that's even the case. Now it's that he was trying to do a good deed, huh?

I think they certainly should clear as best they can, the river and that it can't be ignored as a possibility but I agree that it sure shouldn't be their only focus. There seems to be no sightings of him after 10 (as far as we know) but theoretically he had all night to have disappeared by accident, injury, foul play, drowning, since unfortunately no one reported him missing nor was it realized until the next day.

I'd also say that not only did a volunteer find his bank card, the vape shop video and more came from others looking for such, not from LE going and asking to see such where they knew there to be cameras. So how many others might there be or might there have been with sightings of him...?

I'd dare say there's also other video of previous times in the night of the group, the friends, the other bars, the hotel that may indicate his and/or his friends' condition. It wouldn't tell us what happened to him but it would tell us or at least tell LE if they have bothered to obtain such, how he was acting when out, when leaving the hotel and so on. What is clear in the videos is that no one is with him or following him apparently, at least not that can be seen or he's aware of or worried about.

A bar shouldn't have to be a babysitter but I don't think it would be bad policy if one is removed, then someone has to go with him IF they came with others. Put him in a sober cab, etc. They shouldn't HAVE to but it would still make for a decent policy.

The what ifs are just awful. What if a friend was allowed to leave with him. What if he had went the right way and back to the hotel and the biggest, WHAT IF he'd just asked the cop for help getting back to his hotel? The what ifs have to be a millionfold worse for his parents.

 

[Guess Who]

Many banks are now putting your name on the back of the card for privacy reasons so when you stick your card in the slot, your name isn't on top being seen. Many skimmer machines also have cameras to catch your PIN being entered and the account number and your name. If the account number and your name is on the back, the camera doesn't catch that part as easily. Seems like the way to go to me.