NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — More than two weeks after Riley Strain’s body was discovered in the Cumberland River, his family continues to search for answers.
What happened to the 22-year-old University of Missouri senior the night he went missing from a Broadway bar? Metro Police believe his death was an accident. Strain’s family is uncertain, saying subsequent developments have led them to not rule out foul play.
Strain’s family told FOX 17 News they have now identified a new witness who is perhaps the last known person to have seen Strain walking along Gay Street– near the James Robertson Parkway bridge.Detectives also questioned this witness, according to a spokesperson from Metro Nashville Police.
Some believe Strain may have fallen into the river underneath the James Robertson Parkway bridge, the last area he was seen.
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Weeks ago, FOX 17 News interviewed a different man, who is part of the homeless community, who said he heard Strain stumble into a fence, right before that bridge. That man was below on the river embankment. He recounted that there was another man closer to Strain near the street, who yelled that Strain was okay, and just drunk. Since then, Strain’s family has been searching for this other man. They said they have now found him.
The family said they were on speaker phone while their friend in Nashville, Jennifer Ward, spoke to this new witness in person, Monday. Ward has been aiding the family in the search since Strain went missing.
Ward said the man reported seeing Strain continue walking underneath the James Robertson Parkway bridge, even passing the Birch Building.
“He did see Riley," said Ward. "He did see him walk all the way down the sidewalk, to the corner, as far as he could see.”
This raises questions as to whether Strain fell into the river from underneath that bridge, if he potentially walked beyond it.
That said, Strain’s bank card was found in the area underneath the James Robertson Parkway bridge. There has been surveillance video released from the Birch Building showing an angle of that area. But it does not appear to show Strain walking by the building. Still, the family continues to look for more surveillance video from surrounding businesses.
"Until we have the exact information, we’re going to continue to think maybe he went outside the bridge, maybe he got into a car," Ward continued. "Until we have the facts, we can only assume. We don’t know that he fell."
This new witness is yet another wrinkle of uncertainty for Strain’s parents. Strain was pulled from the river with no pants, belt, cowboy boots, or wallet, according to his family. The family was told that there were no evident signs of trauma to his body in the preliminary autopsy, which one would think could be present with someone taking a significant fall onto rocky ground, and ultimately drowning.
FOX 17 News reached out to Metro Nashville Police about the interviews with both men who are unhoused. Not long before this story aired, a spokesperson sent an email to FOX 17 News which stated in part:
"As to the JRP Bridge, there is NO video corroboration whatsoever that shows Riley Strain walking beyond that bridge. When the person was pressed about what he saw, he referenced news accounts.
The second person you reference NOW believes, after reflection, that he could have been mistaken, and that the person he heard around the brush/fence may well not have been Riley Strain."
The second person refers to the man FOX 17 News interviewed weeks ago who said he had heard the commotion above him. This same man has repeatedly told the family the same account since Strain's disappearance.
Strain's family continues to wait for the official autopsy to be released.They said that every time they get a new piece of information, it also brings about 100 more questions.
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