Missing Man’s Death Ruled Accidental According to Autopsy

(RepublicanNews.org) – The death of a 22-year-old student is reportedly being treated as “accidental” following preliminary autopsy results. The toxicology results are yet to be confirmed, but police investigating Riley Strain’s disappearance and death have said that there does not appear to be any evidence of foul play involved.

Strain, a student at the University of Missouri and a member of the Delta Chi fraternity, went missing on Friday, March 8th, while spending time in Nashville, Tennessee, as part of an event with his fraternity brothers. He was asked to leave a restaurant at around 9:30 pm and was caught on CCTV walking through the city at 10 pm. He is reported to have exchanged pleasantries with a police officer at some point in the night before disappearing.

His friends reported him missing after returning to their hotel and finding no trace of him. They tried contacting him and even tried locating him using his Snapchat location but had no success. A manhunt that involved the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department and the volunteer United Cajun Navy as well as members of the public was launched and continued until his body was found in the Cumberland River in West Nashville. His bank card had been located nearby five days prior by two members of the public who had taken an interest in his disappearance.

Following this find, Riley’s parents publicly criticized the police department for what they felt had been a slow investigation in which members of the public had turned up more information than the police. The police consequently defended their efforts and Sgt. Robert Neilsen told the press that they were focusing on finding Riley Strain himself rather than “small pieces of evidence.”

Despite the conflict during the investigation, Strain’s family thanked all those who searched for him, saying that the police had shown much grace towards the devastated family. They also thanked everybody who had shown them support and sympathy through such a difficult time. Strain’s mother, Michelle Strain Whiteid, asked those listening at a press conference to “hug [their] babies tight.”