Family of Riley Strain hope to bring missing student home safely: ‘He’s my best friend, my everything’
The family of Riley Strain spoke to the public on Tuesday, saying that the United Cajun Navy will assist in the search for the missing Missouri college student.
Chris Whiteid, the father of the student last seen near the Cumberland River in Nashville on March 8, said they were determined to bring the young man home safely.
“Our goal is still to bring Riley home. We feel that is still a very pliable goal,” Whiteid said.
Riley’s mother, Michelle Strain Whiteid added: “He’s my best friend, my everything.”
The family then turned the microphone over to David Flagg, the national director of operations for the United Cajun Navy.
Flagg urged volunteers to remain safe and coordinate with his team while they searched the river.
“Our main focus is to find Riley,” Flagg said. “I would encourage any volunteers to please come under the umbrella of the United Cajun Navy search.”
Flagg said the United Cajun Navy responds to natural disasters across the country, including recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. They have also been involved in missing persons cases, he said.
Riley, a 6-foot-7 finance major, had been visiting Nashville with his 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.
Police later found his bank card on the embankment of the river. An extensive search of the water using boats, dogs and sonar has yet to yield any results.
Oddly enough, haunting bodycam footage from Nashville police may have recorded the last time Strain was seen alive.
The chance encounter shows Strain near the river — where his bank card was later found — as Officer Reginald Young responds to a burglary call on Nashville’s Gay Street at 9:50 p.m.
“How are you doing, sir,” Officer Young asks the student.
“I’m good, how are you,” Strain replies as he exits the frame.
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.”
Strain did not appear distressed during the interaction with the officer.
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 attempted to place the blame on the bar, claiming a bartender “overserved” their son. However, Luke’s 32 Bridge said it only served him one alcoholic beverage and two waters while he was there.
