Riley Strain, the University of Missouri student who went missing during a trip to Nashville two weeks ago, has been found dead, according to police.
“The body of Riley Strain was recovered from the Cumberland River in West Nashville this morning, approximately 8 miles from downtown,” the Metro Nashville Police Department said in a statement on X on Friday. “No foul play-related trauma was observed. An autopsy is pending.”
Strain was last seen by friends at a bar on Broadway on March 8, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department previously said.
The Mizzou student was reportedly asked to leave Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, Luke Bryan’s restaurant and bar, according to St. Louis Post Dispatch, FOX affiliate WZTV and NBC affiliate WSMV-TV.
The Delta Chi fraternity member had traveled to Tennessee with the group for their annual formal, Chris Whiteid, Strain’s stepfather, previously said.
Sometime before 8 p.m. local time on the night he went missing, Strain FaceTimed his mother from a different bar, Whiteid said.
Whiteid said that his family didn’t know what happened until the next day when they got a call from Strain’s friends.
“I was literally getting ready to tee off on the golf course when my wife called me, and I turned around, went and loaded all my stuff off the golf cart, and told my friend that I was sorry I had to leave,” he said.
After Strain’s family told WKRN-TV that his last cellphone location was less than a mile from the bar, between Gay Street and James Robertson Parkway, police released a surveillance video of Strain stumbling while crossing the street.
Downtown Smoke & Vape Shop, a local business, also shared its own surveillance footage with WZTV, which showed Strain running down another street at 9:46 p.m. before falling down. Police confirmed on X that an MNPD helicopter and detectives had searched the area.
In a statement on March 15, the TC Restaurant Group, which owns Bryan’s restaurant, said it provided information to assist authorities in their investigation into Strain’s disappearance.
“During Riley’s visit to Luke’s 32 Bridge, our records show he purchased and was served one alcoholic drink and two waters,” their statement read.
“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. He was followed down the stairs with one member of his party. The individual with Riley did not exit and returned upstairs.”
“Our prayers continue to be with Riley’s friends and family during this difficult time and for his safe return,” the TC Restaurant Group added.
Earlier this week, Strain’s family voiced frustration with the speed in which the investigation into his disappearance was moving.
A bank card belonging to Riley Strain was found on an embankment by the Cumberland River on March 17.