The body of Riley Strain, a University of Missouri student was found in Cumberland River on Friday morning, after a two-week nationwide search.
Strain’s body was found eight miles downriver from where he was last seen. He still had on the black and white shirt he was wearing when he went missing on March 8 after getting kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge in Downtown Nashville, according to Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake.
Strain’s body was first reported to authorities by barge operators doing routine checks near the river in The Nations area around 7:30 a.m., Drake said.
The authorities have also said that they do not suspect foul play in his disappearance and death.
First responders used a boat ramp at the North Nashville Exxon facility to enter the water and retrieve the body from downriver.
“They noticed what appeared to be Riley Strain pop up,” Drake said, adding the Nashville Fire Department used boats to remove the body from the river. “The medical examiner’s office reviewed the body and we’ve confirmed that it is Riley Strain.”
Strain’s body was found after two weeks of extensive search by air, boat, and on foot that included the Metro Nashville Police Department, Nashville Fire Department, Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management, Cheatham County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, United Cajun Navy and countless volunteers.
“We have reports that normally under these circumstances with his height and weight, that he could’ve surfaced in 14 to 20 days,” Drake said. “This is the 14th day so we were really expecting any time soon to find him. In fact, our search teams were going to put in the water here and search from this point further down. We were in the right spot, it’s just unfortunate. There is nothing to suggest any foul play at all.”
