Riley Strain.Photo:Christopher Whiteid
Christopher Whiteid
Riley Strain’s deathwas “accidental,” according to police.
The 22-year-old college student, who went missing earlier this month during a trip to Nashville, was found dead in the Cumberland River on Friday.
On Saturday, the Metro Nashville Police Department said that Strain’s death was “accidental” and no evidence of foul play had been found, per local stationWKRN.
The Metro Nashville Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
“During Riley’s visit to Luke’s 32 Bridge, our records show he purchased andwas served one alcoholic drink and two waters,” the TC Restaurant Group, which oversees Bryan’s establishment, told PEOPLE in a statement on March 15. “At 9:35 p.m., our security team made a decision based on our conduct standards to escort him from the venue through our Broadway exit at the front of our building.”
The statement continued, “He was followed down the stairs with one member of his party. The individual with Riley did not exit and returned upstairs.”
Strain’s body was later found on March 22, several miles away from the downtown Nashville area where he was last seen.
“The body of Riley Strain was recovered from the Cumberland River in West Nashville this morning, approximately 8 miles from downtown,” the Metro Nashville Police Departmentsaid in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday. “No foul play-related trauma was observed. An autopsy is pending.”
Riley Strain.Christopher Whiteid
Strain had traveled to Nashville with several of his Delta Chi fraternity brothers for the group’s annual formal, Strain’s stepfather, Chris Whiteid, previously told PEOPLE.
Whiteid said that his family didn’t know what happened until the next day,when they got a call from Strain’s friends.
“I was literally getting ready to tee off on the golf course when my wife called me, and I turned around, went and loaded all my stuff off the golf cart, and told my friend that I was sorry I had to leave,” he said at the time.
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Before Strain’s body was found, his mother, 52-year-old Michelle Whiteid,recalled in an interview with PEOPLEthat the last conversation the pair had on the night of his disappearance ended with “I love you.”
“We FaceTimed for a while, and he was so excited,” she said. “Then we hung up and he texted me and he was like, ‘It was kind of hard to hear you, but I wanted you to see what was happening.’ "
“I said, ‘Well, you boys be safe. Make good choices. I love you guys.’ And he said, ‘I love you, too,’ " she added. “And that’s it, that’s the last I have heard from him.”
source: people.com
