Body of missing student Riley Strain recovered from Cumberland River in Nashville as family wait for autopsy results: Latest updates
The body of missing student Riley Strain has been found in a river in Nashville, Tennessee two weeks after he went missing.
The student’s body was recovered on Friday morning from the Cumberland River, around eight miles from the downtown area where he was last seen, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said.
“I just ask that you mamas out there hug your babies tight tonight, please, for me,” Riley’s mother, Michelle Whiteid, said Friday night.
No signs of foul play-related trauma were discovered, according to authorities, although an autopsy is pending.
The 22-year-old, who attended the University of Missouri, had been partying with his fraternity brothers in Nashville on 8 March when he was kicked out of a bar around 10pm. Strain’s bank card was found a week later close to the river bank.
The tragic discovery comes after Strain’s stepfather, Chris Whiteid, and family friend, Chris Dingman, told NewsNation that police had shown them footage of what was believed to be his last known movements.
In the video, Strain was seen jogging close to the river – and away from the direction of his hotel, they said.
SEE IT: Candlelight vigil held for Riley Strain after authorities recovered his body
People gather and hold candles at a vigil for Riley Strain just hours after police announced his body was recovered
(AP)
Two attendees look at pictures of Riley Strain during a candlelight vigil on Friday evening
(AP)
A candlelight vigil for Riley Strain, held on the same street where footage last captured him alive
(AP)
Katie Hawkinson24 March 2024 12:00
ICYMI: Country music star dedicates song to Riley Strain
Musician Carly Pearce dedicated a song to Riley Strain while performing in Missouri, the state where the 22-year-old attended school.
“I do not feel like I can live in Nashville and be in the state of Missouri tonight and not say that we love you Riley Strain,” Ms Pearce said from the stage Friday night. “I just want to say that I’m thinking of his family and I’m thinking of his friends and anybody that knows him in this room that knows him. And I want to dedicate this to them.”
Ms Pearce posted about Strain earlier this week, just two days before his body was found.
Katie Hawkinson24 March 2024 11:00
Rescue service that helped find Riley Strain moves to different missing case
The United Cajun Navy, which helped authorities find and recover Riley Strain’s body on Friday, is now diverting resources to a missing child case, the organization said in a statement.
The non-profit dedicated to finding missing children will now assist in the case of 15-year-old Sebastian Rogers, who has been missing for five weeks, according to their statement.
Katie Hawkinson24 March 2024 10:00
Riley Strain’s body was still in his distinctive shirt
Riley Strain was still wearing his distinctive shirt when his body was pulled from the river, police said.
On the night he was last seen in downtown Nashville, Strain was sporting a monochrome shirt.
Since his disappearance, reports have emerged that a homeless man had found a shirt matching the description close to the river bank and was later seen wearing it.
But, in the press conference on Friday morning, police said that Strain was still wearing his shirt and watch – and that these items helped to identify him.
Katie Hawkinson24 March 2024 08:00
Body of missing Missouri student Riley Strain found in Nashville river
Mr Strain’s body was discovered approximately 8 miles from downtown Nashville in the Cumberland River. Workers were removing an object from the river when they stumbled upon Mr Strain’s body.
According to police, Mr Strain was wearing his distinctive black and white shirt when he was found, contradicting earlier claims by that the shirt had been taken and worn by a man named Ross.
Police said an initial analysis of Mr Strain’s body showed no evidence that of foul play, and that an autopsy is pending.
Graig Graziosi24 March 2024 06:00
Timeline of Missouri student Riley Strain tragic disappearance and death
Riley Strain, the 22-year-old University of Missouri student whose body was recovered from the Cumberland River on Friday, was missing for two weeks.
From The Independent, a timeline of Strain’s disappearance, including the last moments he was seen alive:
Katie Hawkinson24 March 2024 04:01
The tragic case of Riley Strain and the TikTok sleuths who tried to find him
At one point, a debit card on a river embankment was the only major clue in the disappearance of University of Missouri student Riley Strain – and it was discovered by two TikTokers.
Read more from The Independent’s Andrea Cavallier:
Katie Hawkinson24 March 2024 03:00
Community came together to send police 200 tips since Riley Strain disappeared
In total, Nashville, Tennessee authorities received more than 200 tips in connection to the disappearance of Riley Strain since he vanished on 8 March.
Now that rescue crews have recovered his body from the Cumberland River, the Nashville community has again come together to mourn the 22-year-old.
People gather and hold candles at a vigil for Riley Strain just hours after police announced his body was recovered
(AP)
Katie Hawkinson24 March 2024 02:00
WATCH: Riley Strain’s mother speaks out after his body is recovered
Katie Hawkinson24 March 2024 01:00
Rescue service that helped find Riley Strain moves to different case
The United Cajun Navy, which helped authorities find and recover Riley Strain’s body on Friday, is now diverting resources to a missing child case, the organization said in a statement.
The non-profit dedicated to finding missing children will now assist in the case of 15-year-old Sebastian Rogers, who has been missing for five weeks, according to their statement.
Katie Hawkinson24 March 2024 00:00
