The body of a college student found dead in a Nashville river after being kicked out of a drunken bar was discovered by a barge employee who quickly recognized his identity.
University of Missouri student Riley Strain, 22, died of an “accident” after falling from a Broadway honky-tonk owned by country artist Luke Bryan on March 8 at the age of 86, a preliminary autopsy says. was revealed on Monday.
An employee of construction materials company Holcim was unloading a barge in the Cumberland River on Friday and was “inspecting the area around the pier” when they discovered a body “face down in the water” and told a 911 operator: told. According to WKRN-TV.
“My company works on the river. We just found a body – I think it’s Riley,” the anonymous man reportedly said during the call.
What you need to know about Riley Strain’s mysterious disappearance and death
Strain’s body was “completely submerged except for his back sticking out of the water,” and the caller had to “remove the log from his head to confirm it was a body.”
As local media reported on the disappearance over the past two weeks, this worker and others working along the river had been on the lookout for any signs of the missing man.
According to Google Maps, Holcim’s headquarters are less than three miles downstream from the Woodland Street Bridge, near where the student was last seen.
Strain was in the tourist area of Music City with his Delta Chi fraternity brothers and told them they would pick up their luggage at the Luke 32 Bridge and return to the hotel.
However, security video showed him taking a wrong turn and trotting out of the hotel before disappearing.
He was last seen on security video a block away from the river after disappearing without a trace.
Witnesses reported seeing a “very, very drunk” Strain nearly trip into the river before being blocked by bushes and the 6-foot-7-inch Financial Major falling into the river. According to WZTV.
A toxicology report has not yet been submitted, but authorities said Monday there was no apparent foul play or trauma.
“Detectives attended the autopsy” — and the death “continues to appear to be accidental,” said Metropolitan Nashville Police Department spokesman Chris Mumford. told The Tennessean.
