Nashville police keep searching for missing Missouri student
Police in Tennessee continue to search for Riley Strain, a college student who went missing in Nashville after traveling there from the University of Missouri.
Strain, 22, traveled to the Music City to attend his fraternity’s annual spring formal, University of Missouri Associate Director of Public Affairs Travis Zimpher told USA TODAY on Tuesday.
According to a missing person’s report, Strain was last seen by friends after he got kicked out of Luke Bryan’s 32 Food + Bridge, a bar and restaurant opened by the country singer in 2018.
That night, friends tried to locate Strain using social media apps on his phone, but were unsuccessful, the report said. Friends also called Strain’s phone, but their calls went to voicemail, police said.
The University of Missouri said in a news release Monday that Strain was in Nashville for a private event.
“We’re hopeful to hear something,” Zimpher said.
Nashville police said Strain was last seen on Gay Street at 9:52 p.m. Friday after drinking downtown at a bar along the city’s popular Broadway strip.
On Tuesday, police released video footage showing Strain walking by himself along Gay Street around 9:50 p.m. and crossing 1st Avenue. Strain stops and starts and appears a bit wobbly on his feet, the video shows. He looks at other pedestrians and does a 360-degree turn before continuing to walk down the sidewalk, the video shows.
Police said they searched the area Monday, including the banks of the nearby Cumberland River, but found nothing. The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said it’s continuing to investigate Strain’s disappearance.
Strain’s parents said he was asked to leave a bar Friday night, FOX 2 in St. Louis reported. He told his friends he was going back to their hotel but never arrived, according to the outlet.
“This is not like him at all,” Strain’s mother, Michelle Whiteid, told FOX 17 in Nashville, explaining her son usually calls and texts her throughout the day.
Whiteid and her husband, Christopher Whiteid, traveled to Nashville from Springfield, Missouri, to look for their son, police said.
University of Missouri officials said they have been in touch with Strain’s family.
In a Facebook post, the Delta Chi Fraternity said Strain is a member of the group’s Missouri Chapter, and it urged the public to spread the word about Strain’s disappearance. “The Delta Chi Fraternity is deeply concerned for the safety of #RileyStrain, a valued member of our Missouri Chapter,” the group posted Monday.
The fraternity also said in a statement they’re “actively engaged” with the University of Missouri, where officials are providing in-person resources for local chapter members.
“The safety of our community is our highest priority,” said Angela King Taylor, the University of Missouri’s interim vice chancellor for student affairs.