New body camera footage captured the moment a missing college student told a police officer that he was “doing good” the night he disappeared.
Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) released the video of 22-year-old Riley Strain on Monday, 10 days after he vanished. The video is now the last known sighting of the University of Missouri student.
The police body camera footage showed Mr. Riley walking alone on Gay St., south of the Woodland St. bridge. Officer Reginald Young was responding to a vehicle burglary call when he saw the six-foot-five student and asked him how he was doing.
“I’m doing good, how about you?” Mr. Strain responded. He answered clearly and “did not appear distressed,” according to police.
After the quick exchange, he continued to walk past the officer and eventually disappeared from the camera’s frame.
“No video has been discovered that shows Riley away from Gay St. after the 9:52 p.m. timeframe,” MNPD posted on X.
Police reiterated that there is no indication of foul play in his disappearance so far.
Just five minutes before his interaction with an officer, Mr. Riley crossed 1st Ave. North on Gay St., as seen in surveillance footage from street cameras released last week. In that video, he appeared to stumble several times. After he crossed the street, he turned and walked the opposite way before he spun back around and continued to walk in the same direction as other pedestrians.
The college senior was visiting Nashville with friends from his college fraternity, Delta Chi. He went missing on March 8 after being kicked out of a restaurant owned by country singer Luke Bryan.
Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink released a statement and said it was fully cooperating with the investigation by providing security camera footage, photos with detailed time stamps, transaction records, and staff accounts to police.
“During Riley’s visit to Luke’s 32 Bridge, our records show he purchased and was served one alcoholic beverage and two waters. At 9:35 p.m. our security team made a decision based on our conduct standards to escort him from the venue through our Broadway exit at the front of our building. He was followed down the stairs by one member of his party. The individual with Riley did not exit and returned upstairs,” according to a statement.
Authorities said Mr. Riley’s friends texted and called him after he left the bar but never got a response. They also tried to access his Snapchat location feature but could not pinpoint his location. His cell phone pinged by the sheriff’s office and the river at 11 p.m. His fraternity brother, Brayden Baltz, contacted authorities at 1:46 a.m. to officially file a missing person’s report.
In addition to a ground search, MNPD used a helicopter to locate his whereabouts. Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) also deployed boats with sonar equipment to aid with searches around the riverbend area. His bank card was discovered over the weekend on the embankment of the Cumberland River.
“The Family of Mizzou college student Riley Strain are living their worst nightmare,” according to a Go Fund Me page. The fundraiser was set up to support his family and cover the cost of travel, hotel accommodations, and food during their “stressful time” in Nashville.
MNPD said it continues to search for the missing student and urged anyone who has seen him to contact authorities at (615) 862-8600.
