Riley Strain updates: Missing Missouri student’s bank card found on Nashville river embankment

While not a college-organised trip, Mizzou officials have said that they are working with Nashville authorities and Riley’s family.

“The safety of our community is our highest priority,” Angela King Taylor, interim vice chancellor for Student Affairs, said in a statement.

“Our thoughts are with Riley’s family as the search continues. We will be offering any support to them that we can, and we encourage anyone who needs help to reach out to our counselling resources.”

Those resources are on offer at the college’s Wellness Resource Center and the Counseling Center within the Division of Student Affairs, as well as the Employee Assistance Program for faculty and staff.

Riley Strain, a University of Missouri who went missing after reportedly getting kicked out of a Nashville bar, was just served one drink before being escorted out, the bar owners said.

The 22-year-old student was partying with friends at Luke Bryan’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink bar just before 10pm on 8 March.

The bar’s owner, TC Restaurant Group, said Mr Strain was served one alcoholic drink and two waters before he was asked to leave, debunking the theory that he had been overserved.

“No members of Riley’s party were required to stay inside the venue to close any open tabs, and no one from Luke’s 32 Bridge team prevented anyone from Riley’s party from leaving the venue with him,” the owners added.

Mr Strain and his fraternity brothers were reportedly on a trip to Nashville for a spring formal.

The news comes days after the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced on 13 March that it was looking into whether or not Mr Strain had been served alcohol while visibly intoxicated at the bar.

The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department says its officers have been out looking for Riley.

A MNPD helicopter searched the downtown area on Monday, “including the riverbank”, while detectives also searched on the ground.

When Riley disappeared, his friends said they spent hours looking for him, while his mother and stepfather have also joined the search in recent days.

On Wednesday night, boats searched the Cumberland River for Strain as detectives shifted their focus to reviewing security video. Riley’s phone was last tracked near Public Square Park along the Cumberland River.

“The sad part of this situation is every day we get new leads and go down different avenues,” Mr Dingman told WSMV4.

“We’re going to get there, but it also opens up more doors on what could’ve possibly happened.”

Riley’s parents have also come to Nashville to assist with search efforts.

“This is definitely the worst nightmare,” Strain’s stepfather, Chris Whiteid, told News 2. “Riley talks to us, whether it’s me or to his mom. He talks to his mom three or four times a day. For him to go this long without talking is not normal by any means.”

On 16 March, as one week had come and gone since Mr Strain was last seen, Mr Whiteid told NBC News that he and his wife “continue to search.”

“We’re very hopeful and we’re moving forward as, you know, he’s coming home and we’re graduating in May and life goes on just as normal,” he added.

The hunt for Riley Strain has now spanned more than a week — and authorities said on 17 March that the search for him continues.

Here are some of the latest developments:

On the afternoon of 14 March, police said there was currently no signs of foul play in Riley’s disapearance, but that investigations by water and air would continue.

Metro Nashville Police Sgt Bob Neilsen said, “In a missing person’s case, people go missing for various reasons. Some are voluntary, some are not. Some could be due to a medical incident.”

“Right now, we have no idea what happened with this gentleman. We don’t believe there was any crime involved, however. All of our resources right now are dedicated to locating him,” the police sergeant added.

Although the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced on 13 March that it was investigating whether Mr Strain had been overserved at the bar, on 15 March, the bar owners revealed that the college senior had been served just one drink and two waters before being escorted out.

“No members of Riley’s party were required to stay inside the venue to close any open tabs, and no one from Luke’s 32 Bridge team prevented anyone from Riley’s party from leaving the venue with him,” the owners said in a statement.

On Thursday an urban search and rescue team continued to search along the brush line of the bank of the Cumberland River, checked storm drains and looked in dilapidated buildings.

However at a police conference later that afternoon – almost one week after the sophomore from the University of Missouri went missing – police said there was still no sign of the 22-year-old.

Metro Nashville Police Sergeant Bob Neilsen told reporters: “In a missing person’s case, people go missing for various reasons. Some are voluntary, some are not. Some could be due to a medical incident.

“Right now, we have no idea what happened with this gentleman. We don’t believe there was any crime involved, however. All of our resources right now are dedicated to locating him.”

Last Friday, the college student had been visiting Nashville, Tennessee, on a fraternity trip and was separated from his friends after he was kicked out of Bryan’s 32BRIDGE bar – which is owned by country singer Luke Bryan.

Mike Bedigan has the full story…

The bank card of missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain was recovered near the Cumberland River in Nashville more than one week after the college senior vanished.

“Riley Strain’s bank card was discovered this afternoon on the embankment between Gay St. And the Cumberland River,” Metro Nashville Police Department wrote on X on the afternoon of 17 March.

“The search for him continues,” authorities added.

Mr Strain, 22, was last seen at a bar in Nashville — as part of a trip with his fraternity — on 8 March.

Security asked him to leave, prompting a probe into whether he had been overserved. However, the bar owners on 15 March said that he had just been served one alcoholic drink and two waters before being escorted out.