(NewsSpace.com) – Millions of tourists, including college students, flock to Nashville, Tennessee, every year for the party-like environment. Earlier this month, a fraternity formal consisting of more than 200 people visited Music City, but they returned home with one less. A University of Missouri college student went missing during the trip, and authorities are still searching for him.
Riley Strain, 22, disappeared on Friday, March 8, after he got split up from his friends while drinking. He was last seen walking down the street from Luke Bryan’s bar, where he was asked to leave after being overserved. Strain relayed to his friends that he would meet them back at the hotel, but he never showed up. His friends filed a missing persons report the next day.
Strain’s family said it’s not normal at all for him to go without contact; he regularly speaks to his mother several times a day. The police confirmed that his phone is off, so they cannot track him that way. It last pinged near the city’s Public Square Park.
In the days following Strain’s disappearance, authorities relied on helicopters, ground crews, and surveillance videos to track his whereabouts. They secured some footage, which shows him near the intersection of Church Street and 2nd Avenue, and also shows him stumbling before falling to the ground and getting back up. His stepfather feels that “he got turned around on the direction,” which caused him to get lost.
Strain was last seen walking toward the Cumberland River. Luke Bryan’s bar is also cooperating with authorities in terms of footage from their establishment. The singer himself has made a short statement, saying, “Y’all, this is scary. Praying for his safe return.”
When police initially searched the river for clues, they didn’t find anything. But on Wednesday, March 13, News Channel 5 Nashville reported that emergency crews were searching the body of water and had been since Tuesday, but they have yet to find anything.
Strain is said to be 6’5 and around 160 pounds. Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 615-862-8600.
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