Riley Strain, a 22-year-old student, disappeared on March 8 after spending the evening partying with his fraternity brothers in Nashville. He was reportedly removed from Luke Bryan’s bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge Bar, for reasons unknown. Strain told his friends he would meet them back at their hotel, but when they returned, he was not there. After unsuccessfully attempting to contact him and checking his Snapchat location, his friends reported him missing on March 9.
Immediate search efforts were launched following the report.
According to Strain’s stepfather, Riley FaceTimed his mother on the night he vanished, mentioning that he had visited two more bars before being kicked out of a third. In an interview with NBC News, the stepfather noted that Riley "didn’t even sound like he had been drinking a lot."
I was just watching some live footage of Broadway and all I could think, as a parent that has lost a child, was #RileyStrain's poor mom, the world just keeps going like everything is fine when to her it should stop to find her boy. To this day, going out is this hardest thing. pic.twitter.com/ctIZzRzRvz
— Officer Kittens (@Derk2165) March 22, 2024
The mystery deepened with the release of a puzzling message sent from Riley’s phone that night.
At 9:47 p.m., surveillance footage captured Riley crossing the street. Five minutes later, another camera recorded him looking disoriented. This was the last known sighting of him.
His distressed family pleaded with the public and authorities to help find him. “We’re looking for you. We are not leaving until we have you. We’re going to be with you at graduation…and everything’s going to be fine,” his stepfather said.
On the night of his disappearance, Riley sent a text message to a 22-year-old woman he was reportedly seeing. The text read “Good lops,” adding to the mystery.
“He’s got several friends that are female, male. I don’t know the individual he talked to at that time,” his mother told People.
The family of #RileyStrain has not given up hope they will find him alive…but his stepdad told me tonight they are preparing for the worst. @NewsNationComms pic.twitter.com/Kthz7vTS15
— Elizabeth Vargas (@EVargasTV) March 22, 2024
Tragically, on March 22, Riley Strain’s body was found eight miles downriver from where he was last seen. His body was discovered by a worker for a local building materials company that unloads barges at the river.
“My company works on the river. I have just found a, uh, dead body,” the worker told the police after calling 911, adding, “I believe it to be Riley.”
The Metro Nashville Police Department reported that a preliminary autopsy indicates Riley Strain’s death appears to be accidental. Don Aaron, a spokesman for the department, said a detective attended Riley’s autopsy examination, and his death “continues to appear accidental.”
“No foul play-related trauma,” Aaron said in an email. “(Toxicology) pending per usual.”
Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of Riley Strain. May he rest in peace.
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