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Riley Strain's body found in Nashville river, police say
NBC News ^ | 22 March 2024 | By Katherine Itoh and Matt Lavietes

Posted on 03/22/2024 11:32:15 AM PDT by Red Badger

Strain disappeared on March 8 after being kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink in downtown Nashville while on a trip with his fraternity.

University of Missouri student Riley Strain's body has been found in the Cumberland River Friday morning, the Metropolitan Nashville Police announced.

"The body of Riley Strain was recovered from the Cumberland River in West Nashville this morning, approximately 8 miles from downtown," the department wrote on X. "No foul play-related trauma was observed. An autopsy is pending."

Police received a call around 7:28 a.m. from a worker at a nearby business who discovered Strain's body after removing an object from the river, Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said during a press conference shortly after the discovery.

The city fire department then removed the body from the water and the medical examiner's office later confirmed the identity. Strain still had his shirt and other identifiable objects on his body, according to Drake.

His family has been notified.

"I want to say to the family, my heart and prayers go out to you all for this very unfortunate and tragic incident," Drake said. "I also want to say thank you to the Nashville community and the outpouring community of the outpouring support from the community in trying to help us locate Mr. Strain."

Given Strain's height and weight, police were expecting his body to surface between 14 and 20 days if it was in the Cumberland River.

"This is the 14th day so we were really expecting anytime soon to find him," Drake said.

"Today, we mourn one of our Tigers," the University of Missouri wrote on X. "As the Mizzou community mourns Riley, we are keeping his family in our thoughts and offering support," university president Mun Choi added in a statement.

"Our hearts go out to Riley’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time as we work to provide support and resources to all those affected by this tragedy," Delta Chi Fraternity said in a press release Friday.

Strain went missing on March 8 after being asked to leave Luke's 32 Bridge Food + Drink in downtown Nashville while on a trip with Delta Chi fraternity for spring formal.

The 22-year-old told his friends he would return to his hotel, stepfather Chris Whiteid told NBC News affiliate WSMV. Whiteid said in an interview on "Top Story with Tom Llamas" that Strain never made it back to the hotel.


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; US: Tennessee
KEYWORDS: creditcard; cumberlandriver; mizzou; nashville; rileystrain; tennessee; universityofmissouri
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1 posted on 03/22/2024 11:32:15 AM PDT by Red Badger
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To: Red Badger

Sad and prayers to his friends and family.
Has anyone else here read or heard that criminologists have looked into the theory that serial killer(s) might target drunken college kids leaving bars near rivers and shove them in to drown in a manner that would pass as accidental? Don’t recall a specific case, maybe it was a situation where more of these were happening than statistically plausible and that caught law enforcements eyes. Also washes trace evidence away I would reckon. Creepy.


2 posted on 03/22/2024 11:38:35 AM PDT by desertsolitaire (Kobe Bryant was the worst helicopter parent.)
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To: Red Badger

Smiley face killer. Fits the MO.


3 posted on 03/22/2024 11:39:59 AM PDT by FrdmLvr
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To: Red Badger
Too much booze at the bar.

4 posted on 03/22/2024 11:40:45 AM PDT by Governor Dinwiddie (LORD, grant thy people grace to withstand the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil.)
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To: Governor Dinwiddie

He was apparently drunk when he came in. They served him one drink and then asked him to leave................


5 posted on 03/22/2024 11:45:19 AM PDT by Red Badger (Homeless veterans camp in the streets while illegals are put up in 5 Star hotels....................)
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To: desertsolitaire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxHo6At55mg Or it could have been an accident... River GIF - River GIFs Or it could have been an accident...
6 posted on 03/22/2024 11:49:14 AM PDT by desertsolitaire (Kobe Bryant was the worst helicopter parent.)
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To: desertsolitaire

Is this one of those spring break f-ups?


7 posted on 03/22/2024 11:52:54 AM PDT by Clutch Martin ("The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right." )
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To: Clutch Martin
Is this one of those spring break f-ups?

It's the 1% of youth drinkers that drink WAY too much, act stupid and win stupid prizes.

8 posted on 03/22/2024 11:54:42 AM PDT by 1Old Pro
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To: FrdmLvr

I recall hearing those Smiley Face stories on Art Bell’s radio show. Extremely creepy, that the killers have not been identified and caught. I don’t think those deaths were the work of one person.


9 posted on 03/22/2024 11:56:17 AM PDT by lee martell
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To: Red Badger

That’s why, back in my day, the US MIL ingrained a buddy system amongst peers to see to it that each other returned safely to the base/barracks, as youngsters are in a mindset- bulletproof.


10 posted on 03/22/2024 12:00:07 PM PDT by freepersup (“Those who conceal crimes are preparing to commit new ones.” ~Vuk Draskovic~)
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To: Red Badger

Says he had a shirt on. Hmmmm.


11 posted on 03/22/2024 12:03:30 PM PDT by Fireone (Who killed Obama's chef?)
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To: desertsolitaire

In Austin, TX there have been many young men found in the river, known as Town Lake, aka—Lady Bird Lake, in the past few years. I do not recall that any of the cases were solved.
I think the city simply wrote off the deaths as misguided homeless men.... Makes one wonder.


12 posted on 03/22/2024 12:06:03 PM PDT by redshawk ( I want my red balloon. https://youtu.be/VexKSRKoWQY)
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To: Clutch Martin

It is certainly plausible and perhaps most often true that intoxicated young people who stumble out of bars in the wee hours and walk home, etc, near rivers sometimes fall in and quietly drown. What I was posting earlier was that some statistical anomalies caught some criminologists eye and the postulated that a serial killer or killers might be using this method of death by misadventure to cover for their giving intoxicated pedestrians a hard shove into rivers to likely drown. Don’t know what ever came of the speculation. I also surmise it came after a certain are experienced more of these than they ever should by chance.


13 posted on 03/22/2024 12:06:50 PM PDT by desertsolitaire (Kobe Bryant was the worst helicopter parent.)
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To: FrdmLvr

Smiley face killer. Fits the MO.

~~~

Federal agencies got blanket warranty to search for all cell phone pings by the capitol that day, then I should think they could find pings around these cities at the known times and find a common one.

But then again, you got to have priorities. A serial killer isn’t a deep state priority. Covering for certain protestors and persecuting other ones definitely is.


14 posted on 03/22/2024 12:09:17 PM PDT by z3n (Kakistocracy)
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To: redshawk

Me thinks someone may be taking it upon themselves to winnow the gene pool a bit. I would laugh it off as a coincidence or several but then I remembered the original movie ‘The Mechanic’ with Charles Bronson and talk of how the best hitmen never got caught because their murders were ruled accidents or suicides and they were never looked for as murder suspects since there were no “murders” occurring.


15 posted on 03/22/2024 12:09:52 PM PDT by desertsolitaire (Kobe Bryant was the worst helicopter parent.)
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To: FrdmLvr

I was thinking the same.


16 posted on 03/22/2024 12:17:26 PM PDT by RushIsMyTeddyBear ("Equity" = "All animals are equal. Some animals are more equal than others.")
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To: redshawk
In Austin, TX there have been many young men found in the river, known as Town Lake, aka—Lady Bird Lake, in the past few years. I do not recall that any of the cases were solved. I think the city simply wrote off the deaths as misguided homeless men.... Makes one wonder.

Those incidents have been clustered around Rainey Street, a nightlife area popular with college students.

17 posted on 03/22/2024 12:19:29 PM PDT by TexasKamaAina (The time is out of joint. - Hamlet)
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To: Fireone; Red Badger

He was wearing a distinctive shirt - - one side black, the other side tan.

A sad ending to the search but not unexpected. I feel so bad for his family and friends.


18 posted on 03/22/2024 1:06:24 PM PDT by radu (God bless our military men and women, past and present)
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To: desertsolitaire

“What I was posting earlier was that some statistical anomalies caught some criminologists eye and the postulated that a serial killer or killers might be using this method of death by misadventure to cover for their giving intoxicated pedestrians a hard shove into rivers to likely drown.”

The perfect murder, for murders sake.

There’s no CCTV, witnesses passers by... plus all of his contents were in his pockets so the only logical summation they can come up with, without a bruise or some other forensic discovery, is that he simply fell into the water while very intoxicated.

Occam’s razor. However, beginning in the 20th century, logic, pragmatism, and especially probability theory have become more popular among investigators.

In this particular case the forensics forced a focused hypothesis based on probability theory. In the event it was a sophomoric prank gone wrong, a guilt ridden conscience could produce a confession or an eyewitness to come forward at some point in the future.


19 posted on 03/22/2024 1:06:46 PM PDT by Clutch Martin ("The trouble ain't that there is too many fools, but that the lightning ain't distributed right." )
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To: freepersup

oh but he was with his frat brothers....iows...he was with an elitist group of drunks that carry on personal responsibilty for anything or anybody....they’re “elite”...


20 posted on 03/22/2024 1:09:50 PM PDT by cherry
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