Riley Strain, a University of Missouri student whose body was recovered from a river after going missing in Tennessee’s capital for nearly two weeks, died from accidental drowning and intoxication, according to a newly released autopsy report.
News outlets report that Davidson County Medical Examiner’s office released Strain’s autopsy report Tuesday. The autopsy states that Strain’s blood alcohol level was .228, nearly three times the legal limit for driving. He also had delta-9, a THC compound, in his system.
Strain, 22, was last seen just before 10 p.m. on March. He was ordered to leave a bar in downtown Nashville, where he’d ordered one alcoholic drink and two waters, according to the bar’s management company. He briefly interacted with a police officer shortly after leaving the bar, while walking along a street that runs adjacent to the Cumberland River.
A search was quickly launched, with just small clues available to help investigators trying to find him, including finding his bank card along a riverbank and using surveillance footage to track his final moments. The debit card was discovered on the riverbank by two community members more than a week after Strain’s disappearance. The massive search also involved airboats, hovercraft and individual community volunteers.
University of Missouri officials said in a statement that Strain was traveling to Nashville to attend a private event.
Strain’s body was recovered from the Cumberland River about 8 miles west of downtown on March 22. No foul play was suspected, investigators said.
