Riley Strain was out drinking with his friends in Nashville, Tennessee, when he disappeared. The 22-year-old, a senior at the University of Missouri, was last seen walking out of Luke’s 32 Bridge at 301 Broadway and crossing a nearby street. He was in town for a convention with his fraternity brothers.
Police report that the bar has escorted Strain out of the building after purchasing only one alcoholic drink and two waters. The bar staff felt Strain had too much to drink. After leaving the bar, Strain had a brief encounter with a police officer, shown in a bodycam video released by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
A week after the incident, a statement from TC Restaurant Group shared that “At 9:35 p.m., our security team made a decision based on our conduct standards to escort him from the venue through our Broadway exit at the front of our building.” They claimed that Strain was accompanied downstairs with one of his friends, but the friend did not leave with him.
Strain’s stepfather, Chris Whiteid, told CNN affiliate WZTV, that “The bartender said he had been overserved.” Strain’s family continues to search for their missing son, who was reported to have been missing since March 8th. According to a Twitter post, Strain was last seen at 9:52 p.m. Friday on Gay St.
Strain’s friend called 911 on Saturday, March 9, after calling the sheriff’s office to file a missing person’s report and going to the Central Police Precinct. Strain’s family, from Springfield, Missouri, drove to Nashville after receiving a call from their son’s fraternity brothers.
Strain is a 6′ 5″ white male. He has a slender build, blonde hair, and blue eyes. He weighs approximately 160 pounds. Strain was last seen wearing blue jeans, brown boots, and a black and brown button-up shirt with a black chest pocket. He was also wearing a black Apple watch.
Before leaving the bar, Strain told his friends he would walk back to their hotel, the Tempo by Hilton, which was around five blocks away. However, Strain appears to have gone in the opposite direction.
Although Strain’s phone was off when the police began looking for him, Verizon Wireless stated that the last known location of his phone was less than a mile from a cell tower located at 19 Oldham Street, near the Cumberland River. His cell phone last pinged around 10-10:30 p.m. near Public Square Park, Gay Street, and the Cumberland river.
According to a Sunday X post from Nashville police, Strain’s bank card was found “on the embankment between Gay St. and the Cumberland River.” The Nashville Office of Emergency Management shared that “drones, canines, boats, and divers” were used to search the Cumberland River. Strain’s family, Nashville authorities, Strain’s University, and others are continuing to look for the missing student after air and ground searches were unsuccessful.
