Found Deceased TN - Riley Strain, 22, missing after leaving bar, Nashville, 8 March 2024 #3

[Jewels53]

I had a request to make my avatar as Riley Strain in a green heart in remembrance of Riley for today. Today is his funeral. I made a temporary fb and avatar if you choose to make one it is up to you. jmo

 

[SMK777]

I had a request to make my avatar as Riley Strain in a green heart in remembrance of Riley for today. Today is his funeral. I made a temporary fb and avatar if you choose to make one it is up to you. jmo

Thanks for this. x

 

[Bosie]

Isn't it quite possible that he had to relieve himself, drunk and hurried, pants slipped down, bent down to drag them up and fell over? Died when hitting the ground and rolled into river? Therefor no water in lungs. However, if this is the case there should prob. be some visible head injury from the fall. Dry drowning is possible, especially if he had some muscle relaxant drugs in his system and combine that with alcohol. Interesting to see what the toxicology report finds.
He was in the water for weeks, and decomposition and the moving of tissue as well as the stream of water, objects in water, may have pulled boots off?

 

[NCWatcher]

Agree and would like to know what he allegedly did that was so horrible to then force the bar to toss him out.

I'm curious too. But

1) The family does know what happened in the bar. I expect they've also talked to the other men in the group so I doubt they only know what the bar management told them. Riley Strain’s phone had power, ‘did not die’: Family friend

2) It's been stated RS was trying to do a good deed in a situation, a situation that, IMO, most likely didn't really involve him. (See above link) It's been a very long time but I do know from working in a restaurant with a bar that inebriated customers "trying to help" usually are not at all helpful. (And if the situation with the "helpful" customer escalates, people will quickly ask why that person was not removed sooner!)

3) For lots of reasons (including those in #2) bars do toss customers out for behavior that may not be "so horrible" but has a good chance of leading to a more problematic situation later on.

There's also been debate here about "over-serving" but RS was served only one alcoholic drink & 2 waters before he was asked to leave Luke's. But we do know the group had been to at least two bars that evening and may have been drinking at the hotel as well.

And there have been some suggestions maybe the others in the group are at fault for not walking RS back to the hotel. Hindsight always gives a different picture but for all we know, it was common when this group was out drinking for one person (maybe even RS) to have to leave early. Maybe it was usual for that person to leave alone and nothing ever went wrong before. And it was only a few minutes walk to the hotel. A terrible outcome but not really the fault of the group or the bar IMO.
MOO

 

[SMK777]

And there have been some suggestions maybe the others in the group are at fault for not walking RS back to the hotel. Hindsight always gives a different picture but for all we know, it was common when this group was out drinking for one person (maybe even RS) to have to leave early. Maybe it was usual for that person to leave alone and nothing ever went wrong before. And it was only a few minutes walk to the hotel. A terrible outcome but not really the fault of the group or the bar IMO.
MOO

Agreed. Although I myself suggested that his family likely wishes that someone had walked him back to the hotel, I’m sure they would not have a blame mentality about it, and fully understand that no one could see the future, and the fraternity brothers would not have been anticipating that Riley would get completely turned around, and lost, with such disastrous consequences.

And it’s obvious that Riley himself, when seen interacting with the police officer, had no idea the trouble that lay ahead.

 

[MassGuy]

First autopsy of Riley Strain not unusual, St. Louis expert says

An expert who has looked at bodies pulled from the Mississippi River for decades weighs in on the preliminary autopsy findings.

www.ksdk.com

Dr. Michael Graham has examined dozens of bodies pulled from the Mississippi River throughout the 40 years he spent as St. Louis' Medical Examiner.

The recently retired pathologist said the absence of water in the lungs of a body that has decomposed for that long is not unusual. A victim could still drown and be found without water in their lungs.
Many of the bodies pulled from rivers and other bodies of water are also found nude are partially nude, Graham said. Clothes and shoes can be pulled off by currents, get snagged by something in the water or possibly be weighed down by getting filled with sand.

Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Kris Mumford said Strain’s death “continues to appear accidental" after a detective attended the first autopsy, The Tennessean reportedSunday. Mumford said toxicology results were pending, but there is no apparent foul play. The first autopsy won’t be complete until all testing is finished.

 

[Megnut]

I'm curious too. But

1) The family does know what happened in the bar. I expect they've also talked to the other men in the group so I doubt they only know what the bar management told them. Riley Strain’s phone had power, ‘did not die’: Family friend

2) It's been stated RS was trying to do a good deed in a situation, a situation that, IMO, most likely didn't really involve him. (See above link) It's been a very long time but I do know from working in a restaurant with a bar that inebriated customers "trying to help" usually are not at all helpful. (And if the situation with the "helpful" customer escalates, people will quickly ask why that person was not removed sooner!)

3) For lots of reasons (including those in #2) bars do toss customers out for behavior that may not be "so horrible" but has a good chance of leading to a more problematic situation later on.

There's also been debate here about "over-serving" but RS was served only one alcoholic drink & 2 waters before he was asked to leave Luke's. But we do know the group had been to at least two bars that evening and may have been drinking at the hotel as well.

And there have been some suggestions maybe the others in the group are at fault for not walking RS back to the hotel. Hindsight always gives a different picture but for all we know, it was common when this group was out drinking for one person (maybe even RS) to have to leave early. Maybe it was usual for that person to leave alone and nothing ever went wrong before. And it was only a few minutes walk to the hotel. A terrible outcome but not really the fault of the group or the bar IMO.
MOO

Particularly to your last paragraph, his friends didn't know he'd be denied at the adjacent bar. Perhaps they thought he only had to navigate crossing the street, to where they'd all then meet up again, and from which ultimately leave together.

We could pretend it's that bar's fault for not holding him in some sort of adult-toddler time-out corner. But they're in the business of adult beverages not adult parenting.

This sad tale IMO highlights how, with just one frame jiggled, it would have been a very different story, without this most unhappy ending.

Didn't drink.
Drank less.
Didn't intervene (in helping, whatever that was)
Waited outside the next bar.
Turned the right way.
Asked LE for directions.
Didn't trip headlong into a particular object.
Didn't go off the path.
Didn't need to urinate/vomit.
Urinated/vomited anywhere near an elevation over water.
Was 5'10. (His height IMO may have contributed to his fall in that he would have been top heavy over a low wall.)

Life choices, deliberate or otherwise, can lead to events we would never choose.

Easy to see the path reconstructed after the fact.

Utterly unpredictable from the onset.

JMO

 

[Arkay]

Perhaps Riley did need to relieve himself, but had to defecate rather than urinate and so removed his pants entirely. Or perhaps he vomited on his pants and boots and removed them.

Intoxication could make him do things he wouldn’t normally do in public.

Still, it’s my opinion that the river removed his clothing. Two weeks in a river current and being stuck under a barge getting battered could do anything.

IMO

 

[housewife]

Died when hitting the ground and rolled into river? Therefor no water in lungs. However, if this is the case there should prob. be some visible head injury from the fall.

RSBM
I am very interested to see how the autopsy recorded Riley's head injury when he stumbled and hit that street sign post. It must have shown broken blood vessels before a real bruise could start developing. Maybe a laceration of the skin, as well?

If the motive was robbery, they definitely would have taken his watch, IMO.

Also interested if toxicology shows GHB in his system.

 

[Ressler]

RSBM
I am very interested to see how the autopsy recorded Riley's head injury when he stumbled and hit that street sign post. It must have shown broken blood vessels before a real bruise could start developing. Maybe a laceration of the skin, as well?

If the motive was robbery, they definitely would have taken his watch, IMO.

Also interested if toxicology shows GHB in his system.

I’m also curious regarding sedatives, GHB, in particular. Might explain why the report of no foul play related trauma.

 

[SMK777]

Will the family will be facing an uphill battle with the Nashville PD if they request Riley's death be switched from accidental death into a criminal investigation? Two different autopsies were performed and both ME's reached the same conclusion - accidental death with no evidence of foul play. Can the PD refuse to re-investigate the death as a possible homicide?

I’m wondering. I suppose if law enforcement and medical examiner see no reason to investigate further, they would refuse.

I’ve heard of families that then hire their own investigators. And I’ve read of rulings which changed from accidental to homicide.

I don’t think this would apply to Riley’s case — unless new evidence were found.

 

[Breazy]

About 10 minutes ago, Greenlawn Funeral Home East - Springfield, MO, posted a tribute video - Riley Strain.
It is 19:29 (19 minutes - 29 seconds). Of course, there are many pictures of Riley.

It is on Riley's Obit page at Greenlawn.

~~~ Rest in peace, Riley ~~~

Riley Ray Strain

Riley Strain age 22 passed away on March 22, 2024, in Nashville, Tennessee. Born in Springfield, Missouri, on January 2, 2002, Riley

greenlawnfuneralhome.com

Such a handsome young man with so much more life to live. Just sad all around...

 

[branmuffin]

It’s clear that they do.
However, death at 22 is horrible in it’s finality, and I’m sure from his mother’s perspective, she simply can’t believe he’s gone, and agonizes over how it could have been prevented, if only he’d been walked back to the hotel by someone.
I can understand both sides.

"IF' is the longest word in the English language.

 

[tezi]

I’m wondering. I suppose if law enforcement and medical examiner see no reason to investigate further, they would refuse.

I’ve heard of families that then hire their own investigators. And I’ve read of rulings which changed from accidental to homicide.

I don’t think this would apply to Riley’s case — unless new evidence were found.

I really don't think that LE sees any reason to investigate further. Unless the toxicology report comes back with something weird and so far unexplained, I think Riley's death is accidental.

I have been through two of these drowning investigations in my own family, and yes, it was difficult to accept the accidental rulings in both cases, we KNEW in the the Medical Examiner and our local Sheriff's Department had investigated both cases fully. Speaking from experience, these investigations (especially the first one) tore our family apart. There were some questions early on about the circumstances of the my first brother-in-law's death. Very serious questions, because in the beginning it was thought that he may have been murdered, due to the conflicting stories his girlfriend had given to LE. In the end, his drowning was ruled accidental, which it was, but it is hard for a family to accept that someone who is a strong swimmer got caught in an undercurrent that killed him. The actual autopsy for me wasn't as hard to read and understand as the tox screen was. He has numerous substances on board which probably contributed to his death, alcohol being the biggest one. I had to actually do a lot of research and talk to various doctors to understand the toxicology report. I hope Riley's parents have someone who will be able to explain the final autopsy report and the toxicology report to them, so they understand how Riley died.

If it wouldn't have been for Nova here at WS, I wouldn't have made it through that period in my life.

 

[SMK777]

I really don't think that LE sees any reason to investigate further. Unless the toxicology report comes back with something weird and so far unexplained, I think Riley's death is accidental.

I have been through two of these drowning investigations in my own family, and yes, it was difficult to accept the accidental rulings in both cases, we KNEW in the the Medical Examiner and our local Sheriff's Department had investigated both cases fully. Speaking from experience, these investigations (especially the first one) tore our family apart. There were some questions early on about the circumstances of the my first brother-in-law's death. Very serious questions, because in the beginning it was thought that he may have been murdered, due to the conflicting stories his girlfriend had given to LE. In the end, his drowning was ruled accidental, which it was, but it is hard for a family to accept that someone who is a strong swimmer got caught in an undercurrent that killed him. The actual autopsy for me wasn't as hard to read and understand as the tox screen was. He has numerous substances on board which probably contributed to his death, alcohol being the biggest one. I had to actually do a lot of research and talk to various doctors to understand the toxicology report. I hope Riley's parents have someone who will be able to explain the final autopsy report and the toxicology report to them, so they understand how Riley died.

If it wouldn't have been for Nova here at WS, I wouldn't have made it through that period in my life.

Thank you for sharing your own personal and painful experiences. I’m sorry you had to go through them, and I understand how an accidental ruling for a death can be as traumatic for families as a homicide ruling: perhaps in some ways even more so.

 

[tezi]

I really don't think the SFK has any place in this discussion. It focuses away from tragedy of Riley's death. It is just not warranted. JMO

In our family's situation, the accidental ruling was easier to come to terms with than the possible homicide ruling. I will say however, our lives were turned upside down in the days and weeks until the investigation was complete. Just the agony of not knowing what to believe was hard. Our local Sheriff's Department was wonderful to our family. I grew close to the investigating officer and knew he was as upfront as he could be during the investigation. Imagine both of our surprises when the almost same event happened to us two years and three weeks later, in the same exact place! Only this time, there was no question it was an accident. I look back almost 19 and 17 years later and thank our Sheriff for helping us through everything.

I hope with time, Riley's loved ones will have some sort of peace. The grief never leaves, you just get better at grieving, never good at it, just better. I know it took me personally about ten years before I could look back and not feel anger about the events and the fallout from those days. We want to know why it happened, put the blame somewhere and sometimes we just can't do that. My second brother-in-law was totally at fault for what happened to him. He knew the dangers of swimming where he was and chose to ignore those. He paid the ultimate price. That doesn't diminish his contributions to the world, it just makes it worse because it was preventable.

 

[Cassady]

First autopsy of Riley Strain not unusual, St. Louis expert says

An expert who has looked at bodies pulled from the Mississippi River for decades weighs in on the preliminary autopsy findings.

www.ksdk.com

Dr. Michael Graham has examined dozens of bodies pulled from the Mississippi River throughout the 40 years he spent as St. Louis' Medical Examiner.

The recently retired pathologist said the absence of water in the lungs of a body that has decomposed for that long is not unusual. A victim could still drown and be found without water in their lungs.
Many of the bodies pulled from rivers and other bodies of water are also found nude are partially nude, Graham said. Clothes and shoes can be pulled off by currents, get snagged by something in the water or possibly be weighed down by getting filled with sand.

Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Kris Mumford said Strain’s death “continues to appear accidental" after a detective attended the first autopsy, The Tennessean reportedSunday. Mumford said toxicology results were pending, but there is no apparent foul play. The first autopsy won’t be complete until all testing is finished.

Drowning Without Aspiration: Is This an Appropiate Diagnosis? | Office of Justice Programs

www.ojp.gov

 

[SMK777]

Drowning Without Aspiration: Is This an Appropiate Diagnosis? | Office of Justice Programs

www.ojp.gov

So there may be a natural cause of death which preceded going into the water.

 

[branmuffin]

Can't disagree with any of that. Public drunkenness not being a crime everywhere is news to me (and downright unAmerican, if you ask me. Where are the stocks when you need 'em?) My reply simply followed another's thoughts of pouring a drunk into an Uber -- there will always be the money situation. And as you mentioned the safety issue. And others. There are no easy answers.

The easy answer is the one that most drunk people won't abide by: don't get so s***faced you cause a ruckus and get kicked out of a bar, have no clue where you are and don't know where you're going. Everyone knows that trying to reason with a drunk person is a lost cause.

Let's say there are two different Riley's; the Riley who has probably been drinking all day, went to a couple of bars in the evening, then was asked to leave an establishment. This Riley, unfamiliar with the area got lost and ended up drowned in a river.

Then there's the Riley who's probably was drinking all day, drove to DT Nashville, hit a couple of bars and was asked to the leave the establishment. This Riley got in his car and drove into a pond and some rescue team found Riley in the car several days later, drowned.

The responses to the deaths of the two Riley's are vastly different, imo. One is treated with sorrow, outrage and compassion with suggestions that the bar, his frat buddies, the bouncer, strangers walking by him on the street should have all have been looking out for Riley. The one person not assigned any blame, is Riley.

The second Riley gets a much more sober reaction, sorrow for such a senseless death and anguish for the family but with a tempered response tinged with regret that Riley wouldn't have died had he taken a cab or an Uber. Regrettably, being held accountable in some way for his own death.

Out of the two deaths, the only one that conjures up serial killers, being rolled by a homeless person, robbed by some women who spiked his drink or being abducted by some shadowy figure, etc. is the Riley who had no car.

 

[arielilane]

Appreciate forensic pathologist Dr. Michelle Dupre and death investigator Joseph Scott Morgan for discussing the latest on Riley Strain. They explain what a "dry drowning" is and why Riley may have been found with no pants or boots. Both agree more investigation is needed.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1773476976193368566