University of Missouri student Riley Strain, whose sudden disappearance made national news in March, drowned in a river outside of Nashville, Tennessee, and there's evidence he'd been drinking heavily, his completed autopsy revealed Tuesday.
"Riley Strain, a 22 year-old-male, died as a result of drowning and ethanol intoxication," Assistant Medical Examiner Gulpreet Singh Bowman wrote.
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Ethanol intoxication happens when a person drinks too much alcohol.
The autopsy, which also included a toxicology report, reconfirmed much of what the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department reported in March after Strain's body was retrieved from the Cumberland River, namely that his death appeared to be accidental and there was no sign of "foul play related trauma."
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It also revealed that Strain was found floating face down in the river and wearing a "tan and black short sleeve shirt, blue plaid undershorts and black socks."
Strain also had a blue watch on his left wrist and, around his neck, he was wearing a "white metal necklace and yellow metal necklace with a pendant," according to the autopsy.
All of Strain's clothing was covered with "a dense film of dark mud," but Bowman provided no explanation in the autopsy report for what might have happened to his pants.
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Strain “was last seen alive alone at the underpass of James Robertson Parkway Bridge on March 8, 2024,” Bowman wrote.
NBC News has reached out to Strain's stepfather Chris Whiteid for comment.
Strain went missing after being asked to leave Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink in downtown Nashville while on a trip to the city with the other members of the Delta Chi Fraternity for a spring formal.
In a statement released a week after Strain's disappearance, Luke’s 32 Bridge + Drink said Strain was served one alcoholic drink and two waters before being escorted out by security around 9:35 p.m. “based on our conduct standards.” The establishment did not elaborate further.
Strain had told his friends he would return to his hotel, Whiteid told NBC affiliate WSMV of Nashville at the time.
But Strain never made it back to the hotel, Whiteid said later in an interview on “Top Story with Tom Llamas.”
Videos released by police showed Strain appearing to stumble around the downtown area after he left the bar and having what appeared to be a friendly exchange with a police officer. His bank card was later found between Gay Street and the river on March 17.
Two weeks after Strain vanished, a worker at a business in West Nashville spotted his body in the river and called the police.
The medical examiner’s office was able to quickly identify Strain because he still had his shirt and other identifiable objects on his body, Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake said after the grim discovery.
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