Missing student Riley Strain seen near river in haunting final police bodycam footage after being kicked out of Luke Bryan bar
Police in Nashville have released haunting bodycam footage that may have recorded the last time missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain was seen alive.
The chance encounter late on March 8 shows Strain near the Cumberland River — where his bank card was later found.
The encounter opens with Officer Reginald Young responding to a burglary call on Nashville’s Gay Street at 9:50 p.m., where the cop could be seen inspecting a row of parked cars when Strain, 22, walks by him.
“How are you doing, sir,” Young asks the student.
“I’m good, how are you,” Strain replies as he exits the frame.
“Good,” Young answers back, returning to his police work.
Strain did not appear distressed during the interaction with Young, who remained at the scene for another 45 minutes, according to Nashville police.
Metro police noted that there are no other videos so far that show Riley away from Gay Street after 9:52 p.m.
What to know about the mysterious disappearance and death of Riley Strain
- College student Riley Strain, 22, went missing after being kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink in Nashville on March 8, 2024. Strain told his University of Missouri fraternity brothers that he was going back to his hotel room, but never arrived or contacted his friends.
- Surveillance footage shows him walking toward the hotel before making a wrong turn. His cellphone last pinged about a mile from the bar. A video saw Strain jogging away from his hotel before his disappearance.
- According to the Luke Bryan-owned bar, Strain only purchased one alcoholic drink and two waters the night he went missing. The 22-year-old’s parents have claimed he was “overserved.”
- The student’s bank card was found days later on an embankment of the Cumberland River by two TikTokkers searching the area.
- A local homeless man allegedly saw a “very, very intoxicated” Strain almost fall over the edge of a trail into the river. Strain was also spotted by a police officer near the river, according to body camera footage.
- Strain’s body was found in the river on Saturday by workers clearing the river of debris. According to a preliminary autopsy, Strain’s death was “accidental.”
The 6-foot-7 finance major had been visiting Nashville with his Delta Chi fraternity brothers when he was allegedly kicked out of country star Luke Bryan’s honky-tonk bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge, for being too drunk.
Surveillance videos ping Strain as traveling on Gay Street toward First Avenue, which faces the Cumberland River, but an extensive search of the water using boats, dogs and sonar has yet to yield any results.
The search, however, did lead police to find Strain’s bank card on the embankment of the river.
A homeless man told Fox17 during an interview Sunday that he saw Strain on the night he vanished, describing the student as “very, very intoxicated,” and claimed he nearly fell into the river as he staggered.
Metro Nashville Police have previously stated that they don’t suspect foul play at this point.
Strain’s parents have placed the blame on the bar, claiming a bartender “overserved” their son, but Luke’s 32 Bridge said it only served him one alcoholic beverage and two waters while he was there.
