Nashville Police, family of missing college student speak to homeless people near river who may have seen him

Nashville authorities and the family of missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain have spoken with homeless people living along the banks of the Cumberland River, some of whom apparently saw the 22-year-old.

Strain was last seen around 10 p.m. March 8 walking along Gay Street “after drinking downtown” at Luke Bryan’s bar on Broadway Street, according to his family and the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD).

“My brother discussed this with a homeless man that said he had saw him, and another said they saw Larry B[i]rd after seeing the picture,” Strain’s cousin, Chelsea Strain, told Fox News Digital as Nashville Police searched along the Cumberland River on Thursday.

MNPD Sgt. Robert Nielsen confirmed that authorities spoke with people living in a homeless encampment along the river Thursday who were “helpful” in their expanded investigation.

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Police described Strain as 6-foot-5 with a “thin build, blue eyes and light brown hair.”

The University of Missouri senior was visiting Nashville with his fraternity brothers for a spring formal trip, according to FOX 17 Nashville.

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MNPD said in a Thursday afternoon post on X the department’s “Urban Search & Rescue team has assembled today to search further along the brush line of the riverbank” for Strain.

He was reportedly kicked out of the bar on the evening of March 8 after staff felt he had too much to drink, and Strain told his friends he would walk back to their hotel, Tempo by Hilton, which is about five blocks from Luke’s 32 Bridge, FOX 17 reported.

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“The bartender said he had been overserved,” Chris Whiteid, Strain’s stepfather, told the outlet. “He was trying to pay his tab.”

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When his friends did not see him again at their hotel later that evening, they filed a missing persons report, Chelsea Strain previously told Fox News Digital.

After Strain left the bar, however, he appeared to walk in the opposite direction of his hotel. 

His phone last pinged between 10 and 10:30 p.m. in the area of Public Square Park, located near the sheriff’s office and the Cumberland River, according to FOX 17.

“My family left as soon as they heard the news, along with his dad and stepmom. He is not one to leave and not call anyone,” Chelsea Strain said. “I talked to him every week if not every other day to check on him. He talks to his mom more than once a day. All of us are worried. My family, along with his dad, stepmom and step-siblings, all just want him home. We want to hold him and love him. We want to watch him graduate in May at Mizzou. He has a bright future ahead of him.”

Authorities are asking anyone with information about Riley’s disappearance to contact 615-862-8600.