Riley Strain search enters second week: The latest on the missing Missouri student
As the search for missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain enters its second week, Metro Nashville Police confirmed via social media on Sunday that Strain's bank card was found along the banks of the Cumberland River.
The 22-year-old, who has been missing for over a week, disappeared after he was kicked out of Luke's 32 Bridge, a downtown bar owned by country star Luke Bryan, on March 8.
He was last seen on Gay Street shortly before 10 p.m. that night.
Here's what to know about the case:
Riley Strain captured on police body camera
Police Monday afternoon released a video clip of Strain from the night he went missing. This time, he was captured on an officer's body camera.
An officer was on Gay Street in response to a burglary call when Strain walked past.
"Hey, how you doing," Strain said to the officer.
"How you doing, sir," the officer replied.
Strain continued walking.
"I'm good, how are you," he said back to the officer.
In the 48 second video, Strain is in about 4 seconds of it.
No video has been found that shows Strain away from Gay Street after 9:52 p.m., police said.
Shown was Riley's brief exchange of greetings w/ Officer Reginald Young on Gay St., south of the Woodland St. Bridge, on the night of 3/8. Riley did not appear distressed. Officer Young was there on a vehicle burglary call & remained on that portion of Gay St. for 45 min. pic.twitter.com/z0xeEzeieK
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 18, 2024
The search continues, with little results
Police said his bank card was found on an embankment between Gay Street and the Cumberland River on Sunday afternoon, nine days after his disappearance.
The department's urban search and rescue team since Thursday, March 14, has been scouring the Cumberland River bank and a homeless encampment in the area where Strain was last seen since.
"They've gone up and down the bank. They've done multiple sweeps. Urban search and rescue has checked several areas, including dilapidated buildings as well as storm drains," Metro Police Sgt. Robert Nielsen said during a Thursday news conference.
One tip police received was that a person experiencing homelessness at the encampment had seen Strain, Nielson said, noting that police are trying to find that person and talk to them. Strain has not been seen despite dozens of Crime Stoppers tips pouring in every day.
Searches on Wednesday, March 13 included two boats and sonar equipment, as well as a boat from the Office of Emergency Management earlier in the week to search the Cumberland in a coordinated effort with police, spokesperson Kendra Loney said.
Crews searched the riverbank to determine if Strain had washed ashore or if he had fallen near the river.
The investigation into his disappearance is happening in tandem with a Tennessee Alcohol Beverage Commission investigation, looking into what happened at Luke Bryan's downtown bar and allegations that Strain may have been overserved before he was kicked out Friday.
Luke Bryan's bar: Riley Strain served one drink
Strain was served one alcoholic drink and two waters before he was kicked out of Luke's 32 Bridge, the Broadway bar owned by Luke Bryan, according to a statement released Friday.
Strain was kicked out about 9:35 p.m. through the bar's front entrance. The statement did not provide details about why he was removed from the establishment.
"He was followed down the stairs with one member of his party," the company said in the statement. "The individual with Riley (Strain) did not exit and returned upstairs."
The company said it provided the Metro Nashville Police Department with security camera footage, photos of Strain with time stamps, staff accounts and transaction records as part of its missing person investigation.
Other video evidence of Riley Strain
Metro Nashville police released video surveillance of Strain crossing 1st Avenue North to Gay Street.
Detectives today continue to pursue tips & investigative leads concerning missing person Riley Strain, 22. Strain, wearing a 2-tone shirt, is seen in this video crossing 1st Ave N to Gay St (right to left), at 9:47 p.m. Fri. Have info about him? Plz ?? 615-742-7463. pic.twitter.com/fE86dlqeOC
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 12, 2024
About 11 seconds into the 44 second clip, Strain, wearing a split color black and tan button down comes into frame from the right side. He stops momentarily in front of a "road closed" sign. He appears to look at his phone from an arms length away then continues on, stumbling over himself at times.
Strain finishes crossing the street, then stops and looks back, turning around and stumbling toward the direction he came from. He then turns back around, arms limply swinging, and follows the crowd of people who passed him, continuing out of camera view toward Gay Street.
Support and concern from friends, family
Strain was out with a group of Delta Chi fraternity brothers the night of March 8, when he got kicked out of the bar.
A friend of Strain's told police that they got separated and lost sight of Strain, according to a police report. They tried using his location on Snapchat to find him but were unsuccessful. Calls to Strain went straight to voicemail, the report said, and he was not found at their hotel on Rosa L. Parks Boulevard, about five blocks from the bar.
A GoFundeMe for the family has raised more than $50,000, as of Sunday afternoon.
The money will help Strain's family with money for food, hotels and travel as the search for the missing student stretches into the second week, capping off a weeklong effort that has produced little results.
Have a story to tell? Reach Angele Latham by email at [email protected], by phone at 931-623-9485, or follow her on Twitter at @angele_latham
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Riley Strain Nashville search continues: Bank card found near river