Missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain had a chance encounter with cops on the night he vanished, where he ‘did not appear distressed.’
Strain, 22, was last seen on March 8 at Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink on Broadway, which is owned by country superstar Luke Bryan, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
The department on Monday shared footage on X showing Strain walking along the sidewalk past an officer, who appeared to be inspecting a car with a smashed window.
Strain says, ‘How are you?’ to the officer, to which the cop responds, ‘How you doing sir?’
‘Good you?’ Strain says. ‘Good,’ the officer said back. Metro Nashville PD said that it is evidence the student was away from Gay St, the last place he was seen alive.
It comes as the last person to potentially see Strain said he caused a ‘commotion’ at a Nashville homeless encampment where the student’s bank card was found.
Nashville police released this haunting image of Strain walking along the sidewalk on the night he vanished, as he asked a cop how he was before telling him that he was ‘doing good’
Riley Strain, 22, was last seen on March 8 at Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink on Broadway, which is owned by country superstar Luke Bryan
The Delta Chi fraternity member was in Tennessee on a group trip for their annual spring formal when he was kicked out of the bar around 10 p.m. for unknown reasons.
On Sunday, police confirmed that a bank card belonging to Strain was found on the embankment near Gay Street, which is a three-minute walk from the Downtown Smoke & Vape Shop on Church Street where he was last seen on video.
‘We heard a commotion. We looked back up. He almost fell over. The last bush right there caught him,’ an unidentified man who lives in the camp told WZTV.
He was very, very, very intoxicated. I never seen anybody stumble that hard before,’ the man said. ‘I yelled get up. They said, “He’s just drunk. He’s okay.”‘
Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management used a dive team for the first time in their water searches on Saturday, but nothing conclusive was found.
On Friday, it emerged that Luke’s 32 was being investigated after allegedly serving him too much alcohol.
Authorities continue to search for missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain who was last seen on March 8 at Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink on Broadway
The last person to potentially see missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain said he caused a ‘commotion’ at a Nashville homeless encampment (pictured) where the students bank card was found
A bank card belonging to Strain was found on the embankment near Gay Street, which is a three-minute walk from the Downtown Smoke & Vape Shop on Church Street where he was last seen on video
The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission said: ‘The TABC has opened an investigation into this matter to see if any violations have occurred.’
In a statement from Luke’s 32 Bridge, they said: ‘We proactively provided detailed information quickly after his visit to our business.
‘This included all security camera footage, photos of Riley, transaction records and staff accounts.
‘During Riley’s visit, our records show he purchased and was served one alcoholic drink and two waters.’
At 9:35pm, the bar said their security team made the decision to escort him from the venue.
Cops made the initial suggestion that Strain may have been overserved on the Friday, when he and his friends hit the town and visited Luke’s 32 Bridge.
Surveillance footage released by the Nashville police show him wobbling and appearing confused as he crossed a closed road near the water
He reportedly told his Delta Chi fraternity brothers he would meet them back at their hotel, but was nowhere to be seen when the group returned from their night out.
The next morning, his fraternity brothers tried to find Strain using his Snapchat location but were unsuccessful and called police to report him missing.
His last cellphone location was recorded between Gay Street and James Robertson Parkway close to the bar where he was last seen.
Surveillance footage collected by police from Downtown Smoke & Vape Shop on Church Street showed Strain near the intersection of 2nd Avenue and Church Street.
The seemingly intoxicated student was wearing a two-toned black and brown shirt and blue jeans and took a tumble, then quickly got back up and continued down the street.
Another camera caught near the intersection of Gay Street and 1st Avenue North just before 10pm taking large strides with his head down as he stumbled through the streets.
Additional surveillance footage released by the Nashville police show him wobbling and appearing confused as he crossed a closed road near the water.
‘We feel like when he came out, because they had been to a couple of other places, that he had got turned around on the direction,’ Strain’s stepfather Chris Whiteid said.
Strain’s family has said they’re living through a nightmare ordeal as they continue to look for him.
The student had reportedly FaceTimed his mom earlier in the evening, and she said nothing seemed out of the ordinary, even though she knew he was bar hopping
The student had reportedly FaceTimed his mom earlier in the evening, and she said nothing seemed out of the ordinary, even though she knew he was bar hopping.
His mother, Michelle Whiteid, said he’s ‘a great kid’ and normally ‘very communicative.’
‘We miss him and we want him back so bad,’ she told WKRN. ‘He’s always texting me, calling me, FaceTiming me,’ she added. ‘He’s always in touch with me. He’s very communicative.’
In an appeal for information about Riley’s whereabouts, Nashville Metro PD described him as 6-feet6-inches tall, weighing 165lbs with blonde hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information is asked to call police on 615-862-8600.