Riley Strain, a missing University of Missouri student, has been identified as the body discovered in a river in West Nashville on Friday morning, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
According to police posts on social media, Strain’s body was found in West Nashville, near downtown, in the Cumberland River.
At a press conference, Chief John Drake of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department stated that “there is no other evidence that suggests anything other than” Strain falling into the river, pointing out that he was still wearing his clothes, watch, and other identifying belongings.
An autopsy is still pending, the police stated, and no “foul play-related trauma was observed.” Drake claimed that word had reached Strain’s family.
The 22-year-old Strain vanished during a fraternity trip to Nashville and was last seen on March 8, just after Luke Bryan’s club, Luke’s 32 Bridge, had closed. He placed an order for one alcoholic drink and two glasses of water, according to the bar’s records.
Strain was seen wandering around Nashville’s downtown alone on surveillance footage. He was last observed at approximately 9:52 p.m. Shortly around 1:30 a.m., his pals reported him missing.
The University of Missouri revealed in a statement to its student body that Strain had gone to Nashville for his fraternity’s spring formal.
Since Strain’s debit card was discovered along a Nashville river, the search for him has recently concentrated on the local waterways.
Before extending the search to cover more of the river, including the Cheatham Dam, which is located approximately 40 miles from downtown Nashville, officials concentrated initially on the downtown area of the Cumberland River. Ground troops, boats, and helicopters have all been participating in the search. In order to examine debris that had floated to the surface, police also closed the dam, according to CBS affiliate WTVF.
Shortly after seven in the morning, Drake said, employees at a company on the river discovered Strain’s body.
“They removed something from the river and as they moved it they noticed Mr. Strain and called it in,” Drake stated.
The police chief said that officers had planned to search this area of the river today, noting that because of Strain’s height and weight it was believed his body could be surfacing in the area soon.
Drake commended the community for its efforts in helping the police department locate Strain, stating that they had received over 200 tips during the hunt. His “heart and prayers go out” to the Strain family as well.
A significant river that flows through Tennessee and Kentucky for about 680 miles is the Cumberland River. Many dams line the river.
For downriver activities, the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department and the Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office have been collaborating. An additional volunteer disaster relief group involved in the search is the United Cajun Navy.
Mayor of Nashville, Freddie O’Connell, declared on social media following the discovery of Strain’s death that the city would “continue to work toward improvements in safety in a variety of ways.”
“This is not the outcome that anyone hoped for – especially his parents and everyone who loved him,” O’Connell wrote in a letter.
Resources were available for faculty and students impacted by Strain’s death and disappearance, the University of Missouri stressed.
“As the Mizzou community mourns Riley, we are keeping his family in our thoughts and offering support,” the institution stated.
Since the start of the hunt, the parents of the college student have resided in Nashville. Stepfather of Strain, Chris Whiteid, told ABC News on Wednesday that the family was already preparing for the worst.
“Put yourself in our shoes. Everybody knows it. Everybody’s thinking it,” Whiteid stated.
