Found Deceased TN - Riley Strain, 22, missing from a bar, Nashville, 8 March 2024

[branmuffin]

I wonder what the capacity limits are per floor, etc. Something needs to be addressed.

Someone provided a link earlier showing what the capacity was. It differed according to each area. I think the capacity overall was in the 1200+ people. That's a lot of people but I would hope that when this bar was designed they'd have to conform to regulations regarding capacity for things like evacuation due to fire, etc. I went through every single pic I could find of that bar and I never found one image that had a telltale red exit sign.

 

[whitelilac]

Gosh, they're still waiting for his Apple Watch's data. That could very well show something of significance.

 

[PommyMommy]

MAR 14, 2024
Witness saw missing Mizzou student after he left the bar | Kansas City Star
Dingman also confirmed that the bouncer did not allow Strain to stand outside of the bar to wait for his friends to close their tabs. He was taken out the side door of the bar, and by the time his friends paid and walked out, he was gone.

Retracing his steps: New details in Riley Strain's last-known path in Nashville

It's now been five days since anyone last saw University of Missouri senior Riley Strain. FOX 17 News is retracing the 22-year-old's last steps.

krcgtv.com

A Metro Police officer said Thursday that they believe a homeless man saw Strain at a close proximity Friday night, and officers are trying to find that man and speak with him to see if he can help further with the search. Police add people at the large homeless encampment have been very helpful in search for Strain thus far.

 

[pizzaman12]

Being drunk does not mean that you lose all sense of self-protection.

SBM

I'm sorry, but this literally happens daily across the globe. It's certainly unfortunate, but your statement is grossly inaccurate.

 

[whitelilac]

MAR 14, 2024

https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article286642125.html?taid=65f3781929a2b100015e546d&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

Dingman also confirmed that the bouncer did not allow Strain to stand outside of the bar to wait for his friends to close their tabs. He was taken out the side door of the bar, and by the time his friends paid and walked out, he was gone.

Thank you ! Side door, I did miss this.

 

[branmuffin]

Crazy to me that it's 21 years old in the States, not cos I don't think it's reasonable but because its not what I know
It's 18 here

19 where I am. It used to be 21 many moons ago but they changed it to 18! It didn't take long to change it to 19 because high school kids were coming back from lunch blitzed. That was when Ontario had Grade 13. It's been gone for at least 15 years now.

 

[whitelilac]

19 where I am. It used to be 21 many moons ago but they changed it to 18! It didn't take long to change it to 19 because high school kids were coming back from lunch blitzed. That was when Ontario had Grade 13. It's been gone for at least 15 years now.

Growing up in Australia, it was 16 at the time. I don't know if it still is.

 

[Arkay]

It is terribly tragic that this young man is missing, and since he is so conspicuous in his appearance and missing for nearly a week, IMO the outcome is dismal.

As a non-drinker who has rarely chosen to go to a bar with family or friends, I am very ignorant about bar protocol.

It seems to me, though, that at 22 Riley is an adult. I was married by that age. Why is it incumbent upon the bartender to be in charge of when a customer has been “over-served?”

Of course I’ve heard of many cases where people have been kicked out of a bar for being too drunk and/or for being belligerent, but I’ve never understood why it’s the bartender’s responsibility. Isn’t that the reason people go to bars, so they can hang out and drink?

I’m certainly not blaming Riley as he must have been unaware of how intoxicated he was, but I also don’t feel the bar owner or bartender should be the babysitter.

That video is heartbreaking though, especially when he is running. It seems he felt something was urgent. To get home? To get away from something? Something he only imagined?

I’m sure I sound mean and heartless and that’s not my intent. I just still wish adults, even young adults, would make a contract with themselves that they will imbibe a certain amount and then no more.

I don’t expect it but a miracle would be wonderful!

JMO

 

[branmuffin]

I wish in this case that the one friend, who wanted to, was allowed to leave the bar with Riley, while one of the others in the group paid his tab.

I think most of his frat buddies were just as inebriated as he was. If they were having fun they may have resented having to babysit someone who was unlucky enough to be targeted by the bouncer. People gloss over what could happen because 99 percent of the time they're found sleeping it off somewhere or managed to get back to their hotel with a killer hangover.

 

[acutename]

It is terribly tragic that this young man is missing, and since he is so conspicuous in his appearance and missing for nearly a week, IMO the outcome is dismal.

As a non-drinker who has rarely chosen to go to a bar with family or friends, I am very ignorant about bar protocol.

It seems to me, though, that at 22 Riley is an adult. I was married by that age. Why is it incumbent upon the bartender to be in charge of when a customer has been “over-served?”

Of course I’ve heard of many cases where people have been kicked out of a bar for being too drunk and/or for being belligerent, but I’ve never understood why it’s the bartender’s responsibility. Isn’t that the reason people go to bars, so they can hang out and drink?

I’m certainly not blaming Riley as he must have been unaware of how intoxicated he was, but I also don’t feel the bar owner or bartender should be the babysitter.

That video is heartbreaking though, especially when he is running. It seems he felt something was urgent. To get home? To get away from something? Something he only imagined?

I’m sure I sound mean and heartless and that’s not my intent. I just still wish adults, even young adults, would make a contract with themselves that they will imbibe a certain amount and then no more.

I don’t expect it but a miracle would be wonderful!

JMO

not a drinker either but the whole reason for "bartender" laws and dram shop laws is the problem that as people get more drunk, they lose their judgment and have no idea that they are drunk or drinking and then they harm themselves or, if they try to drive a vehicle, others, IMO. In this situation, ejecting this young man seems to have had the opposite result- did not protect him but turned him out into oblivion. IMO.

 

[em13]

Why didn’t he just lay down on one of those benches at the riverfront seen on the last video? He could had called his friends and gave them his location, and there seems to be enough people walking around to avoid someone rolling him.

Being drunk does not mean that you lose all sense of self-protection. And if it did we would likely see it outlawed again. I don’t drink now, but when I was his age I could drink a half case pretty much every night and not bat an eye. Stayed away from hard liquor pretty much, but when I was consuming it I would drink a bottle of vodka a night. And I am a beanpole.

I really wonder if he was on prescription medicine of any kind? Has his family been asked about this yet? If I had to guess it is something more than just what he drank at the bar(s) to prompt him to act so irrationally. I mean he was running at one point......he must have had ‘some’ wits about him. At least enough to make a phone call or to find the number for a cab.

While definitely possible he was also on another substance other than just alcohol, to me his behavior and overall demeanor seen on CCTV footage that night seemed very much exactly what I’d expect from someone who just drank way too much way too quickly. I do agree that being drunk doesn’t necessarily mean losing all your sense of self protection or rationale or any other part of your typical brain functions, but being blackout drunk is another beast entirely, fully capable of causing all those things and then some. And IMO & MOO, he seemed to be exhibiting many telltale signs indicative of someone who was likely blackout level drunk. He probably wouldn’t even remember doing any of this after getting the chance to sleep it off.

I was a young and very dumb teenager prone to alcohol induced blackouts, so from my own embarrassingly extensive experience, I really don’t believe he had any wits about him at all by that point of the night unfortunately. If he had, he most likely would’ve made it back to his hotel with little incident and we wouldn’t be discussing his disappearance right now. It’s scary that you can be that level of intoxicated and still manage to talk or stumble your way around at all— with absolutely no memory of doing any of it no less. But it’s also incredibly sad how common that can be, especially for younger people. All just MOO.

 

[Nattyj1991]

While definitely possible he was also on another substance other than just alcohol, to me his behavior and overall demeanor seen on CCTV footage that night seemed very much exactly what I’d expect from someone who just drank way too much way too quickly. I do agree that being drunk doesn’t necessarily mean losing all your sense of self protection or rationale or any other part of your typical brain functions, but being blackout drunk is another beast entirely, fully capable of causing all those things and then some. And IMO & MOO, he seemed to be exhibiting many telltale signs indicative of someone who was likely blackout level drunk. He probably wouldn’t even remember doing any of this after getting the chance to sleep it off.

I was a young and very dumb teenager prone to alcohol induced blackouts, so from my own embarrassingly extensive experience, I really don’t believe he had any wits about him at all by that point of the night unfortunately. If he had, he most likely would’ve made it back to his hotel with little incident and we wouldn’t be discussing his disappearance right now. It’s scary that you can be that level of intoxicated and still manage to talk or stumble your way around at all— with absolutely no memory of doing any of it no less. But it’s also incredibly sad how common that can be, especially for younger people. All just MOO.

I’ve been waiting for a comment like this, as I’ve been too busy/too lazy to write it myself. You took the words right out of my mouth. To sum it up, this is exactly what it looks like to be wasted. I mean actual wasted. To all the people stating it must be something more than “just” alcohol, must have never been that drunk before. Alcohol is a scary beast, unlike any other drug I’ve ever done. I feel for this poor young man and his family so much. I hope and pray this comes to an end quickly for their sake. Moo.

 

[LauraAnne]

MAR 14, 2024
Witness saw missing Mizzou student after he left the bar | Kansas City Star
Dingman also confirmed that the bouncer did not allow Strain to stand outside of the bar to wait for his friends to close their tabs. He was taken out the side door of the bar, and by the time his friends paid and walked out, he was gone.

Retracing his steps: New details in Riley Strain's last-known path in Nashville

It's now been five days since anyone last saw University of Missouri senior Riley Strain. FOX 17 News is retracing the 22-year-old's last steps.

krcgtv.com

A Metro Police officer said Thursday that they believe a homeless man saw Strain at a close proximity Friday night, and officers are trying to find that man and speak with him to see if he can help further with the search. Police add people at the large homeless encampment have been very helpful in search for Strain thus far.

I don't understand that. Why would a bouncer force an obviously intoxicated man to get separated from his friends? I wouldn't think a bouncer would have a right to order someone off the sidewalk outside the bar. Hopefully, this bar is reviewing their practices so this doesn't happen again.

 

[JessG78]

I’ve been waiting for a comment like this, as I’ve been too busy/too lazy to write it myself. You took the words right out of my mouth. To sum it up, this is exactly what it looks like to be wasted. I mean actual wasted. To all the people stating it must be something more than “just” alcohol, must have never been that drunk before. Alcohol is a scary beast, unlike any other drug I’ve ever done. I feel for this poor young man and his family so much. I hope and pray this comes to an end quickly for their sake. Moo.

Thursday night was always party night for the frats at the college I attended near Nashville. Some nights my roommate and I would just watch from our window after midnight to see who stumbled in drunk, who was on the parking lot doing the rebel yell, or who took off in full sprint across the parking lot. We’d always wonder why some of them would take off running…but yeah, drunk running was pretty regular.

 

[branmuffin]

I hate how many threads we have here on WS of young men, drinking in a bar, "disappearing", and being found in a river. It is sad. I wish we could help them understand the dangers of leaving a bar drunk and alone. The young believe they are invincible, but we have found that they are not.

Brian Bone
Caleb Marple
Irshaad Ikbal
Abdul Alanazi
Garret Walker
Inaki Bascaran
Dakota Bingham

These are just a few of the names of individuals I followed on WS that all left bars extremely drunk or disoriented and ended up in a water source. I know other victims have been mentioned, too. There are many, many more unfortunately.

 

[CuriousCricket]

Independent of the bartenders in these mega bars, are security and bouncer folks "working" the various levels, bouncing over-served, etc. It would be a responsible thing to do with those over-served folks, as opposed to ushering them out a side or back alley door with the others they bounce. We will have to agree to disagree. My opinion only.

Until this case, I'd not heard of the young men going drinking, getting bounced, then winding up in water. If this is as big a problem as it seems it may be, instead of assigning blame, we (or someone) needs to be looking at how this is happening and putting measures into place that will lessen the number of incidents.

The kids need to be educated, of course. However, it is the city and LE putting in the work and long hours attempting to find this young man. And it is the bar under scrutiny for overserving him.

Because the towns and bars are making money from the sale of booze and need to keep their reputations, it would make sense (to me at least) that owners start a discussion about measures that make sense to implement in their establishments. Not because they have to, not because they just want to fight anyone who says they're to blame, but because it saves lives and in the end will be good for the bars' bottom line. Same for the city management.

I suspect the PD may be short staffed, but would a reshuffling of scheduling and more pro-active arrests for public drunkenness perhaps save lives on Friday and Saturday nights? There would be a lot of upset kids, but at least they'd be alive to be angry.

If the drinking, bouncing and drowning is a real issue, it's time to start working on it.

 

[branmuffin]

Why didn’t he just lay down on one of those benches at the riverfront seen on the last video? He could had called his friends and gave them his location, and there seems to be enough people walking around to avoid someone rolling him.

Being drunk does not mean that you lose all sense of self-protection. And if it did we would likely see it outlawed again. I don’t drink now, but when I was his age I could drink a half case pretty much every night and not bat an eye. Stayed away from hard liquor pretty much, but when I was consuming it I would drink a bottle of vodka a night. And I am a beanpole.

I really wonder if he was on prescription medicine of any kind? Has his family been asked about this yet? If I had to guess it is something more than just what he drank at the bar(s) to prompt him to act so irrationally. I mean he was running at one point......he must have had ‘some’ wits about him. At least enough to make a phone call or to find the number for a cab.

I think alcohol affects everyone differently so you can't really apply your own personal affects onto other individuals. So many variables can affect someone: had they eaten, were they dehydrated from a previous nights drinking, was he taking meds, had he smoked weed, was he a seasoned drinker, his metabolism, his mood, what kind of alcohol was he drinking etc. etc. etc.

 

[Mimimom]

I was a young and very dumb teenager prone to alcohol induced blackouts, so from my own embarrassingly extensive experience, I really don’t believe he had any wits about him at all by that point of the night unfortunately. If he had, he most likely would’ve made it back to his hotel with little incident and we wouldn’t be discussing his disappearance right now. It’s scary that you can be that level of intoxicated and still manage to talk or stumble your way around at all— with absolutely no memory of doing any of it no less. But it’s also incredibly sad how common that can be, especially for younger people. All just MOO.

I’ve been waiting for a comment like this, as I’ve been too busy/too lazy to write it myself. You took the words right out of my mouth. To sum it up, this is exactly what it looks like to be wasted. I mean actual wasted. To all the people stating it must be something more than “just” alcohol, must have never been that drunk before. Alcohol is a scary beast, unlike any other drug I’ve ever done. I feel for this poor young man and his family so much. I hope and pray this comes to an end quickly for their sake. Moo.

Alcohol is a Very dangerous drug, I’ve witnessed people This drunk. They had No clue what they were doing and no memory of it the next day. Unless you've seen it, I think it's hard to comprehend. But it's real and it happens too often, especially with young adults. In what I've seen it was after multiple Shots, too many that they lost count. It's scary to witness.

 

[branmuffin]

My opinion and experience observing over the years, it's common that over-served are sent out back or side ways. The only way back in most of these places is through the front and with a cover charge.

My experience is completely different than yours. For a while almost all my friends worked in the hospitality business. These were bars, restaurant/bars like this Luke's 32 bar, event centres, etc. but every patron who was asked to leave or forced to leave, they went out the front door because that were the bouncers were. I personally think it would be pretty scary to work in a bar in Tennessee after they passed a law allowing concealed carry in bars as long as the person was not drinking. Hah! I'd like to see how they monitor that situation. Bars have the freedom to identify as a gun free zone but unless you have metal detectors I don't how that works. So maybe bar owners are more interested in nipping even the smallest dustup in the bud by asking the offender to leave.

 

[mythwrites]

Locals, I am so sorry to ask, but if he did fall into that river, is he likely to be found reasonably close? What is your feeling on that?

Do you hear about this happening there regularly?

Local here for the last decade. The Cumberland's current through downtown is not particularly quick in a boat or kayak for example, but it would be difficult to swim against. According to NWS, the water velocity was particularly high from March 8 - 10, right after Riley was last seen (both speed and volume of water was elevated). But according to a report by the Tennessean, the river is shallow enough to stand in 10-15 feet from shore. It's the middle where it is very deep.

Access to the river is easier on the east bank (Nissan Stadium side) where there is more direct water access and less fencing. On the west bank where Riley was last seen, there is a lot of fencing along a fairly steep, and sometimes thickly foliaged, drop-off into the water. However, there are points along Riley's potential path that would have been more susceptible to an accident in the water -- 1) along the bridge where his phone pinged around 9:53pm (James Robertson Pkwy Bridge) and 2) further down Gay St at the Riverfront Park where a tiered terrace walks down to the water's edge. Both of those areas feature railing that would be about upper torso height on me and I'm 5'6".

Bodies do wash up on the Cumberland. It's not unheard of. I'm actually curious now the actual frequency, drift pattern, and demographics of Cumberland River-related deaths.... A spreadsheet may be in my future.

Flow Report: Cumberland River At Nashville Flow Report | Tennessee USGS 03431500
Article from Tennessean: Dangers of the Cumberland River: How water depth, current and temperature impact people