University of Missouri student Riley Strain’s body was found without pants and cowboy boots. His wallet was also missing. His family is now looking for answers, days after police said that his death appears to be “accidental.”
“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 said in an interview on NewsNation’s Elizabeth Vargas Reports.
Strain, 22, was reported missing on March 8 after being kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge. His body was found in the Cumberland River in West Nashville days later.
Although the Metro Nashville Police Department has said there appears to be no foul play involved in his death, Strain’s family has now ordered a second autopsy. “The family deserves more answers than we have,” Dingman said.
Making things more confusing, a medical examiner stated that after the first autopsy, it was found that Strain had no water in his lungs. This raised questions about the circumstances around his death. “Usually, water in the lungs means that they were alive when they went into the water,” Dingman said.
Police have said that they have yet to interview more people to get clarity on the case, including people from a homeless encampment near the place where Strain’s body was found. “I think there’s somebody out there that knows what actually happened that night,” Dingman said.
911 call released
Recently, a 911 call placed by a man who found Strain’s body in the river was released. The man, who works at at building material company Holcim, discovered the body in the river off 61st Avenue North. “I have just found a dead body. I believe it to be Riley,” the man told the dispatcher, according to audio released by WSMV.
Strain went missing shortly after he was asked to leave Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, country singer Luke Bryan’s restaurant and bar, according to a statement shared with PEOPLE. Strain’s stepdad, Chris Whiteid, alleged that the bartender cut the Mizzou senior off after he was overserved. However, the bar claimed he was served only one alcoholic drink.
