The body of Riley Strain, the 22-year old college student who had gone missing after being asked to leave Luke Bryan’s bar on the night of March 8, has been recovered in the Cumberland River in West Nashville, approximately 8 miles from downtown.
“The body of Riley Strain was recovered from the Cumberland River in West Nashville this morning, approximately 8 miles from downtown. No foul play-related trauma was observed. An autopsy is pending,” the Metro Nashville Police Department announced Friday morning.
BREAKING: The body of Riley Strain was recovered from the Cumberland River in West Nashville this morning, approximately 8 miles from downtown. No foul play-related trauma was observed. An autopsy is pending.
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 22, 2024
While speaking to reporters, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said a call was received at 7:28 a.m. from a worker at a business near 61st Avenue North who, along with other businesses along the lake, had been checking the water for signs of Strain.
After the Nashville Fire Department retrieved Strain’s body from the water, the medical examiner’s office reviewed the body and positively identified it as that of the missing college student.
“We’ve confirmed that it is Riley Stain. The family has been contacted. There are no signs of foul play at this time according to the examination here at the river bank. Mr. Strain still had the shirt on that he was wearing, still had the watch, and other identifying factors that helped us identify who he is,” Drake said.
“I want to say to the family – my heart and prayers go out to you all for this very unfortunate and tragic incident,” Drake added.
Drake went on to thank the Nashville community, members of the media, and search teams that participated in the search for Strain, saying the department had received nearly 200 tips from the community in regards to the college student’s case as of Thursday.
An autopsy of Strain’s body is expected to be performed today, Drake added.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Certainly a very tragic thing for this family. All of us ,as parents , worried about our children when they were growing up. You hoped the decisions they made were done with clear minds and sound principles. This young man was unable to do so in his inebriated state. Very sad. I noticed Nashville’s fix it all mayor is going to try and fix this type of thing. Mayor, you can’t fix poor decisions made by people. Stop trying to make government the cure all for all of societies ills. Encourage your children to make better decisions in life. Failure to do so can result in bad consequences.
sympathy to this young man’s family…..