OAN’s Brooke Mallory
5:01 PM – Thursday, March 14, 2024
Riley Strain, 22, a student at the University of Missouri, has been missing for nearly a week now. On Wednesday night, his family and friends gathered at a vigil to pray for Riley’s safe return.
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The 22-year-old went missing on Friday after spending the night in Nashville, Tennessee, where he was attending a fraternity convention and went out to a bar with other members of his fraternity.
A wake was held Wednesday in his hometown of Springfield, Missouri.
Surveillance footage released this week revealed Strain’s final moments before she went missing.
He was seen being kicked out of country music star Luke Bryan’s bar Luke 32 Bridge. The bartenders reportedly felt Strain was too drunk and asked him to leave immediately. Security camera footage recorded shows the missing student staggering and getting lost.
Strain told friends he was going back to the hotel, but his phone’s GPS showed he was walking in the opposite direction.
“We’re here on a fraternity trip. He’s one of my good friends,” an unidentified friend of Strain’s told police after the 911 call.
In an effort to locate him, authorities requested a search warrant for his digital footprint and used information from his Apple Watch and cell phone to confirm his last known whereabouts.
Police and a private investigation team personally hired by Strain’s family continue to search for Strain throughout Nashville, Tennessee.
His parents said on “Morning in America” Thursday that there are still many unresolved concerns and time is of the essence. Strain’s father, Ryan Gilbert, also said the process is taking much longer than expected because there is still a lot of security footage to review.
Meanwhile, Strain’s college classmates and siblings expressed fear and anxiety over her disappearance.
“Right now everyone is holding their breath and hoping that they find him safely and praying that he is found without injury,” University of Missouri spokesperson Christian Basi said.
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