Police search for a University of Missouri student in Nashville
Mar 13, 2024, 6:09 AM
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Police in Tennessee are searching for a University of Missouri student who was last seen by friends at a Nashville bar Friday night.
Metropolitan Nashville Police released video Tuesday that shows Riley Strain, 22, crossing a downtown street Friday night. Police have said Strain was last seen just before 10 p.m. Friday after drinking downtown. They searched the area, including the banks of the Cumberland River, by helicopter and on the ground, but did not find him.
University of Missouri officials said in a statement that they were alerted over the weekend that Strain was missing after traveling to Nashville to attend a private event and that they have been in touch with family and authorities.
Strain’s mother, Michelle Whiteid, and his stepfather, Chris Whiteid, drove to Nashville from Springfield, Missouri, after they learned he disappeared while on a fraternity trip, news outlets reported.
“I just need to know where my son is,” Michelle Whiteid said. “We talk every day, multiple times a day. This is the longest I’ve ever gone without talking to him. It’s devastating. I just want to find him and hug him.”
After the bus ride from Columbia, Strain and some of his fraternity brothers went out, according to Chris Whiteid. Strain was asked to leave a bar, and they got separated, he said.
“The boys called him, and he said, ‘I’m walking back to my hotel,’” Chris Strain said. “They didn’t think anything about it.”
