Nashville police announced Tuesday that Riley Strain’s autopsy report has been released by the medical examiner, saying it confirms their investigation findings that his death was accidental.
According to the report, the 22-year-old University of Missouri senior died of accidental drowning and ethyl alcohol intoxication. Police have classified Strain’s death as an accident.
Nashville detectives said their investigation revealed that Strain drank several alcoholic drinks on March 8 before becoming separated from his friends after a night out.
Police believe he was unaware of the terrain conditions that night when he walked into an overgrown area and fell into the embankment. According to a news release, the river was very high that night due to recent rain and there was a fast current.
Strain, a member of the Delta Chi Fraternity, was a senior at Mizzou majoring in interdisciplinary studies and business administration.
His body was recovered on March 22 from the Cumberland River in West Nashville, about eight miles from downtown.
The night he went missing, he was kicked out of Luke’s Bridge Bar 32 at 301 Broadway, a bar in downtown Nashville owned by country star Luke Bryan, according to Metro Nashville police.
Strain’s disappearance attracted national attention.
A bouncer reportedly did not allow Strain to stand outside the bar waiting for friends to close their tabs. A friend confirmed to The Star that he was taken out a side door and was gone when his friends paid and walked out. A friend told police they lost track of Strain after he was kicked out of the bar.
Nashville police said they tried to track his location through Snapchat but were unsuccessful. His friends tried calling him several times the next day, but the calls kept going to voicemail.
Police launched a major investigation into his disappearance, including checking hospitals and prisons and pinging his phone. Verizon couldn’t get a live ping because his phone was turned off. The company provided the last known location of the phone, which police said was more than a half-mile southwest of a cell tower at 19 Oldham St.
Police used a helicopter and people on the ground to search the area, including a riverbank, with no results. The Urban Search & Rescue team also conducted a deep search along the brush and bank of the Cumberland River.
Surveillance video showed several images of Strain, including one of him crossing North First Avenue onto Gay Street. Body camera footage released by Nashville police showed Strain having a brief conversation with a police officer that evening. The officer had responded to a car burglary on Gay Street when he saw Strain. The two exchanged brief greetings and Strain did not appear distressed, police said.
Police said in a tweet on March 17 that Riley’s bank card was found on the embankment between Gay Street and the Cumberland River. Chris Dingman, a family friend for more than 40 years, told The Star it was found by TikTok “researchers” who had taken an interest in the case.
Strain’s body was recovered from the river less than a week later.
The Star’s Bob Cronkleton and Andrea Klick provided information for this story
