The heartbroken family of Riley Strain had a second, private autopsy completed on their son as new details in the devastating discovery of his body cast a shadow over his mysterious disappearance and death.
Preliminary autopsy reports from the Metro Nashville Police Department indicated that the University of Missouri student, 22, died of “accidental” causes after being thrown out of country star Luke Bryan’s honky tonk bar in Nashville on March 8.
Strain’s body was pulled out of the Cumberland River approximately eight miles from downtown Nashville two weeks after he disappeared.
When he was discovered, Strain was missing his cowboy boots, pants and wallet. Police do not suspect foul play but his loved ones don’t fully believe it.
“The only thing that was found with him, as the police stated in the report, was the watch and the shirt,” family friend Chris Dingman told NewsNation.
The family analyzed photos taken of Riley and his friends on the night he disappeared, which seemingly revealed he had his wallet in his front pocket, and was wearing Justins, a square-nose-style cowboy boot.
Dingman, also acting as the family spokesman, said the additional autopsy was to help answer questions the family had following Strain’s death.
“The family did have a second autopsy, actually in Tennessee following the Metro Nashville autopsy, from a private independent company that does that,” Dingman told the outlet.
“The original autopsy came out just like theirs (Metro Nashville) did, with no obvious signs of trauma as in weapons, guns or knives.”
The second autopsy focused on “more testing on specific things.”
“One thing that threw the family for a loop was the coroner going on record with a news person in Nashville stating about the lack of water in his lungs,” Dingman said.
Strain was found with no water in his lungs, which is usually found in drowning victims.
“Usually, water in the lungs means that they were alive when they went into the water,” he added.
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.”
Dingman says the additional autopsy could answer more questions the family still has.
“The family deserves more answers than we have.”
Detectives haven’t closed the investigation yet, as there are still people who need to be questioned, including occupants of a homeless camp near where Strain’s body was pulled from the river, according to the outlet.
Police initially had a person of interest they wanted to speak with, but Dingman revealed the police were no longer looking for that person and were instead interested in another one.
“We know from the homeless people that live there that was the person that was supposedly on the road when Riley fell into the bushes or whatever happened.”
Dingman shared that he believed there was someone who had information about Strain before he disappeared.
“I think there’s somebody out there that knows what actually happened that night,” Dingman concluded.
