Tragic Discovery: Nashville Police Locate Body of Missing College Student Riley Strain

Nashville, Tennessee police announced on Friday that they had found the body of Riley Strain. The University of Missouri student went missing after going downtown on March 8th and was reported missing by his family.

Authorities confirmed that Strain’s corpse was found in the Cumberland River in West Nashville, approximately 8 miles away from downtown Nashville. The police said that there was no evidence of foul play and that an autopsy would be performed.

“This morning at 7:28 am, we got a call from an employee on 61st Ave, who works for a company adjacent to the Cumberland River. He was looking for Riley Strain and other things that might appear on the river,” Metro Nashville Police Department chief John Drake told a press conference on Friday morning. As they were removing a floating object, they noticed something that looked like a person.

The medical examiner’s offices reviewed the remains of Strain after the fire department recovered his body from the river. Drake confirmed that Strain’s relatives have been contacted.

Drake stated that there were no signs of foul play at this point, based on the examination done at the riverbank. Drake said that Mr. Strain had his shirt and watch still on.

The 22-year-old finance student, who was in Nashville for the spring formal of his fraternity, vanished. He was drinking with his friends in Luke Bryan’s bar downtown, Luke’s 32 on Broadway, when the staff asked him to leave.

Police said his phone rang for the last time on Gay Street, which is part of the Cumberland River.

Nashville Police released a video showing Strain greeting an officer on Gay Street as the officer checked parked cars for signs of reported vehicle burglary, just before Strain disappeared.

Riley and Officer Reginald Young exchanged a few words on Gay St. south of the Woodland St. Bridge on 3/8. Riley didn’t seem to be upset. “Officer Young was on a vehicle break-in call & remained in that section of Gay St., for 45 minutes,” said police on X. “No video footage has been found that shows Riley leaving Gay St. after 9:52 pm. timeframe.”

Luke’s 32 stated in a press release that bartenders had served Strain only one drink before asking him to leave.

The bar stated on March 15, “At 9:35 pm, our security team decided to escort the man out of the venue via our Broadway exit in front of our building.” “He was escorted down the stairs by a member of his group.” “The individual with Riley didn’t exit and returned upstairs.”

TC Restaurant Group stated that they worked closely with the authorities to find the missing student.

After Strain left the bar, he told his friends he was going to return to their accommodation at Tempo by Hilton which is located about five blocks from Luke’s.

Chelsea Strain, Strain’s cousin, said that when his friends didn’t see him at their hotel the next evening, they reported a missing person.

Strain’s friends had reported his disappearance and immediately, the family flew out to Nashville. They began a search for him.