NASHVILLE, Tenn. – In the eighth day of the search for missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain, Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management used a dive team Saturday for the first time to search the water for signs of the 22-year-old. Nothing conclusive has been found in the Cumberland River, according to an OEM spokesman in Nashville.
OEM statement:
Today’s search plan involved taking each boat out along a designated area near the river bank where the missing student was last seen and conducting a K9 search of each boat individually. Based on indicators from each K9, sonar was used to isolate an area to a more specific area where divers could search more thoroughly. Nothing conclusive was found and the search was called off at 2:30 p.m
Police told FOX 17 News foul play is not suspected at this point.
Strain was last seen just over a week ago after being asked to leave Luke Bryan’s bar downtown for being intoxicated. The 6-foot-7 Mizzou financial major left Luke’s Bridge 32, on Broadway, shortly after 9:30 p.m., being escorted for intoxication. Unfortunately, he went in the opposite direction of his hotel, about five blocks in the other direction. His friends had not immediately left the bar with him. Stamm was in town with his fraternity brothers for an annual formal.
Surveillance video shows Strain headed alone toward Third Avenue. He can be seen crashing into a pillar off Church Street and then stumbling on Gay Street near the river, holding his head in some of the footage. Surveillance video last captured Strain on Gay Street near the James Robertson Bridge, according to Metro Police. However, investigators have not released that particular video to the public.
Fox 17 News spoke exclusively on camera with one of the last people who potentially saw Stein before his trail stopped, right in that area. The man, who is part of Nashville’s homeless community, spoke out when he first saw Strain walking down his last known route sometime around 10 p.m. Friday night.
“We heard a commotion,” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He lives near the river with his wife, down an embankment from Gay Street.
“We looked up again. He almost fell. The last bush right there caught him… He was very, very, very drunk… I’ve never seen anyone stumble so hard before.’
He said he didn’t head any closer to the street to check on Strain because someone else was already there.
“I screamed. They said, “He’s just drunk. He is well.”
The man said he reported the entire encounter to detectives and Strain’s family.
He said Strain continued in the same direction up First Avenue. However, Stein’s tracks stop here. No other footage or cell phone activity past this point, around 10 p.m
Other security footage just a block away, from the Justice AA Birch Building, did not appear to show Strain walking by, according to his family.
Stein’s relatives, including both of his biological parents, have been in town since the first day of the search. They tell Fox 17 News they are now focusing on tracking down anyone who was in the last known area of the Strain by the bridge, whether they were walking, on a scooter, riding or driving. Anyone who may have seen Strain is asked to contact Metro Police at 615-742-7463.
Meanwhile, the Nashville community continues to dig near the river daily for any clues, walking along First Avenue and Gay Street. A number of searchers are from Missouri.
Cathy Trumbly shares Strain’s hometown of Springfield, Missouri. She moved to Murfreesboro just a year ago.
“He’s been in our thoughts all day,” Trumbly said. “I’m a parent and I hope someone is looking for him.”
The Tennessee Liquor Commission is now investigating whether the strain was exceeded at any point. Luke Bryan’s bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge, released a statement saying Strain was served a drink at the bar before being escorted out the front entrance.
