15 March 2024 , 11:02
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One week ago, Riley Strain was out with his fraternity brothers in Nashville, Tennessee.
At 9.45pm on Friday, March 8, he was asked to leave a bar owned by country star . The 22-year-old told his Delta Chi friends that he was heading back to their hotel but then he vanished.
Police are desperately searching for the missing student, scouring rivers, speaking to the and analysing snippets of security footage. At the time of writing, they are no closer to knowing his exact whereabouts. Here’s everything we know so far about Riley’s disappearance.
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22-year-old Riley Strain went missing after getting kicked out of a Nashville bar (Metro Nashville PD)Delta Chi drinks
The Missouri student had taken the 430-mile trip to Nashville, Tennessee for a spring formal. He arrived at a hotel with his friends from his fraternity: the Delta Chi, which has seen the likes of Ashton Kutcher and Kevin Costner pass through its doors in their youth.
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Riley and his friends headed to the Broadway area of the city and visited Luke Bryan’s live music bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink – a stone’s throw away from the Cumberland River. At around 9.45, the student was asked to leave the bar.
His friends called Riley, who said that he was going to head back to their hotel. His mum, Michelle Whiteid, had called him hours before he vanished and hasn’t heard from him since. "He's always texting me, calling me, FaceTiming me," she said.
After he didn’t make a return the following morning, Riley's friends called 911. Luke Bryan has said he's “praying for his safe return”.
Stumbling down the street
The towering 22-year-old was seen hunch over in the street on CCTVAt 9.46pm, just a minute after being kicked out of the bar, the 6ft5, slight student was spotted on CCTV outside the Downtown Smoke Shop, on Church Street. He was sporting a two-tone black and brown shirt, jeans and boots as he stumbled down the road.
At points, he could be seen hunched over on the pavement with a few cars and a cyclist driving past. One minute later at 9.47pm, footage caught him on 1st Avenue North to Gay Street which ran near the Cumberland River.
Scouring the waters
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and the Office of Emergency Management have been searching near riverbanks for the missing young man. They've scoured for clues and used boats and sonar equipment. On Tuesday a nonprofit called the United Cajun Navy assisted in the search.
A spokesperson at Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency highlighted the dangers of the river, telling The Tennessean that “the river is narrow, and the river current is the greater danger”.
Spotted near homeless camps
Riley was spotted on CCTV n both Gay Street and Church Street minutes after his bar bootingRiley’s family said that he was spotted by someone in person near a homeless camp adjacent to the Cumberland River. “I was talking to family members currently in downtown Nashville searching, and we have found another homeless person that had acknowledged that Riley had been in that area,” family friend Chris Dingman said.
Phone gives clues
Separately, Riley’s phone reportedly pinged on Life360 and Snapchat near two homeless camps also near the river. It also pinged near a Verizon tower near Public Square Park between 30 to 45 minutes after leaving the bar. It hasn’t been active since.
Police have been requesting data from his phone and Apple Watch, which they're hoping may help lead them to the college senior by tracking down more precise locations of the devices before they switched off.
Mum appeared 'completely normal' moments before vanishing while walking dog
“Right now, we have requested some of that information. We have done emergency pings and are just trying to get that information from them,” Metro Nashville Police Cold Case Sgt. Bob Nielsen told WSMV.
Family join the search
His distraught family joined the search and are working tireless in an attempt to find Riley (News Channel 5)Riley's family has travelled from Springfield, Missouri, to join the search efforts. No significant leads have arisen so far despite ground searches, air searches using police helicopters, and scouring rivers and their banks. Police believe that there is no indication of foul play at the time of writing.
An investigation is now under way into whether Riley was over-served alcohol at Luke’s 32 before he vanished. The Metropolitan Nashville Police urge anyone with information on Riley's whereabouts to contact them immediately at (615)-862-8600.