‘My heart and prayers go out to you all’: Nashville responds after Riley Strain’s body found
Strain’s body was found Friday morning after a two-week search in Nashville.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – Nashville city leaders are sending their condolences to the family of University of Missouri student Riley Strain after authorities pulled the 22-year-old body from the Cumberland River on Friday morning.
Strain’s body, found eight miles downriver from where he was last seen, still had on the shirt he was wearing when he went missing on March 8 after getting kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge in Downtown Nashville, according to Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake. Authorities do not suspect foul play in his disappearance nor his death, Drake said just hours after the young man was found dead.
“I want to say for the family my heart and prayers go out to you all for this very unfortunate and tragic incident,” said Chief John Drake during a media briefing. “I also want to say thank you to the Nashville community and the outpouring of support from the community in trying to locate Mr. Strain.”
Strain’s body being found was first reported to authorities by barge operators near the river. Drake said workers were working to remove an object from the river when they spotted the body.
“They noticed what appeared to be Riley Strain pop up,” Drake said, adding the Nashville Fire Department responded and pulled the body from the river. “The medical examiner’s office reviewed the body and we’ve confirmed that it is Riley Strain.”
Strain’s body was found after two weeks of extensive search by air, boat and on foot that included the Metro Nashville Police Department, Nashville Fire Department, Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management, Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the United Cajun Navy and countless volunteers.
”I can’t imagine the heartbreak (the family is) experiencing. I just hope that the city will be – as I think so many Nashvillians have already been – supportive of the family,” Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said during his weekly press conference. “I think that also now includes especially respecting their privacy as they go through a period of grief and mourning.”
Strain’s disappearance caught the attention of national and social media, which led to much-unfounded speculation around the circumstances of his disappearance and death. A TikToker finding Strain’s bank card on the banks of the Cumberland River stoked the flame of speculation even further.
From the beginning, authorities emphasized there was no evidence to support claims of foul play. The police department was flooded with tips about the potential for foul play in the case but none that were vetted turned up any leads, Sgt. Robert Nielsen said.
Videos released by businesses and police show Strain stumbling and falling around Nashville after being kicked out of the bar. The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission has launched an investigation into whether Strain was overserved alcohol on the night of his disappearance. Luke’s 32Bridge claims Strain was served just one alcoholic beverage and two glasses of water while he was at the bar.
The TABC has worked with local law enforcement to determine where else he was served alcohol that night. Its investigation will be made public once it is complete.
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