Missouri student, Riley Strain, a 22-year-old, visiting Nashville with his fraternity for a spring formal, went missing shortly after being asked to leave Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, the bar owned by country music singer Luke Bryan. Strain was asked to leave the bar at 9:45 p.m. on March 8, and he informed his friends that he was walking back to his hotel. Unfortunately, he never made it back to the hotel.
Aside from being permitted to exit the bar alone. Strain’s fraternity brothers did not call 911 to report him missing until nearly 16 hours after he was last seen.
Officials from Tennessee are currently looking into whether the missing University of Missouri student was given too much alcohol at the Nashville bar the night he disappeared. At 9:47 p.m. on Friday, he was last seen on CCTV crossing 1st Avenue North to Gay Street. That cross-section is approximately 0.7 miles from the bar and in the opposite direction of the Tempo Hotel, where he and his buddies were staying. His phone was also last tracked near Public Square Park on the Cumberland River.
Police Investigation
Strain was described by the police as being 6-foot-5, slender, with light brown hair and blue eyes. However, according to his family, he is 6-foot-7. There has been ground, aerial, and riverside searches in the vicinity of Strain’s last sighting. Two sonar-equipped boats from the city’s emergency management office participated in the search on Wednesday on the Cumberland River.
Although an Urban Search and Rescue team kept searching the riverbank’s brush line, examined storm drains, and searched abandoned buildings. Police informed reporters on Thursday that they had not found any signs of Strain. At the news conference, Metro Nashville Police Sgt. Robert Neilsen stated that the case was still being investigated for a missing person and that there was no indication of foul play at this time.
Collective Efforts
Furthermore, authorities stated that they are checking video footage from some of the locations where Strain was last seen. The owner of Luke’s 32 Bridge, TC Restaurant Group, said in a statement on Tuesday that they are collaborating with officials to give security video and other useful information in the investigation into Strain’s disappearance.
Moreover, on the night of the Missouri student’s disappearance, Strain was recognized by a homeless guy in town. During the investigation, this individual spoke with a bouncer from another establishment who assisted in the search. The bouncer reported being contacted by a homeless person who witnessed Riley fall into the bushes, get back up, and then disappear that night.
The homeless man’s information gives visual corroboration that Strain was in the location where his phone last pinged. A family friend, Chris Dingman, stated:
The sad part of this situation is every day we get new leads and go down different avenues. We’re going to get there, but it also opens up more doors on what could’ve possibly happened.
Written By Nohemi Sanchez
Sources:
NBC NEWS: Officials investigate if missing Missouri student Riley Strain was overserved at Nashville bar
WSMV4: Family friend claims missing Mizzou student spotted by 2 homeless camps during interview on national TV
KY3: Nashville Police Department detectives shifting search for Springfield native to security video
Featured Image Courtesy of srgpicker Flicker Page – Creative Common License
Inset Image Courtesy of Larry Koester Flickr Page – Creative Common License
