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

[jbennett]

The last time I was out in Nashville about a year ago most of the bars had a limit of 2 drinks per person buying. We had 4 people in our group. Every time someone went to the bar they got 2 drinks. So it's highly likely the bartender could have served someone else the drink/drinks he was consuming and they wouldn't know how drunk he was.
Also, someone can be black out drunk and you can't even tell.
I don't think we can hold the bar responsible in this situation.
This is a party town. That's what people do when they go there. They need to be with a group that is responsible to watch out for all parties that are with them.
As far as getting separated, we were a group of 2 couples, aged 40s and 50s and we're drinking but in no way intoxicated. All 4 of us left the top floor of a bar to make it out to the front of the building but got separated because a lot of these places have back and front entrances. You can go out the back but not come in. When you have hundreds of people going down the same set of stairs to leave the establishment at closing time it is very easy for one party to go out one door and get separated from the other. This is exactly what happened to us and it took us 10 minutes to realize our friends went out another door and were in the back of the building.

 

[OckhamsRazor22]

He was asked to leave because the bartender though he had been "over-served", i.e., too much to drink.

Sad. The bartender felt zero responsibility or compassion for a young man “over-served” at the bar. The best option is to kick him to the street? What time did this “bounce” occur from the club?
If a business associate notices someone so inebriated that they feel compelled to make them leave…they should at least call a cab or Uber. Senseless and genuinely inhumane.

 

[Kahja]

Good afternoon.
I’m catching up on this case right now and I am from Nashville. I now live in NYC but I travel back and forth still since leaving there in 2018.
Now seeing where Riley’s phone last pinged makes me pretty nervous. When you leave the downtown tourist areas and go north it rapidly becomes quite unsafe. Reading their hotel was on Rosa Parks also threw a big red flag. This is not an area anyone should be walking alone late at night, especially a young, drunk, person who isn’t from the area. I now have a REALLY bad feeling. This really doesn’t bode well, imo.
To those who think the wording from the bartender using “overserved” is an odd choice, it isn’t. I am a bartender (lifelong) and bar owner. In the industry that is simply what we say. You are correct it being a liability issue, however, in places with a lot of bars in one area, you really don’t know how many drink someone just had at the previous bar or how long it wi take to hit them. It’s a delayed thing so when we catch it, we do cut people off for this reason and call it as such. I honestly don’t think the wording has any bearing on anything as it’s literally just the terminology of the industry.

I really, hope this guy is found but….. that last ping….

 

[MassGuy]

Sad. The bartender felt zero responsibility or compassion for a young man “over-served” at the bar. The best option is to kick him to the street? What time did this “bounce” occur from the club?
If a business associate notices someone so inebriated that they feel compelled to make them leave…they should at least call a cab or Uber. Senseless and genuinely inhumane.

We have no idea what the bartender felt, as the "over-served" characterization is coming second hand from someone close to the family.

 

[sdcali]

In the video it does appear that he is a bit unsteady on his feet in my opinion, but he's alone and no one seems to be engaging with him or following him. I hope someone sees this and recognizes him and perhaps saw him after this was filmed.
Nashville police share video of missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain

As an aside, police have a BOLO for a man wanted for preying on and stealing from inebriated visitors in downtown Nashville.

 

[legalmomma]

at closer look at one of the videos, Riley appears to be looking at his phone, as he stumbles down the sidewalk. I saw earlier he looked hunched over in the video, and thought maybe it was because he injured himself when he fell. But he was looking at his phone

https://twitter.com/x/status/1767985580145574394

 

[legalmomma]

University of Missouri student Riley Strain missing in Nashville: What to know about search

The Metro Nashville Police Department is looking for a University of Missouri student who was last seen Friday at a Broadway bar.

www.tennessean.com

The Office of Emergency Management launched a boat Tuesday to search the Cumberland River for Strain in a coordinated effort with police, spokesperson Kendra Loney said.

Crews searched the riverbank to determine if Strain had washed ashore or if he had fallen near the river after surveillance video showed the 22-year-old stumble along and across Nashville streets in areas close to the Cumberland Friday.

But, officials have, so far, found nothing.
---
Strain was out with a group of Delta Chi fraternity brothers Friday night when he got kicked out of Luke Bryan's about 10 p.m.

TC Restaurant Group, operator and owner of Bryan's Luke's 32 Bridge, said in an Instagram stories they are working with MNPD to provide security camera footage in the search for Strain.
---
Police searched the area Monday, including the riverbank, by air with helicopters and a drone, as well as on the ground but found nothing.

 

[legalmomma]

Nice Google map of Riley's path

https://twitter.com/x/status/1768005270595149912

 

[lightofmine99]

Downtown Nashville during the weekend is insane. When I stayed there you could wake up at any given hour in the nighttime and you can hear "hollerin' and carrying on" as people say from partiers. Lots of those party bus things that you peddle on. I remember seeing many drunk and/or high people staggering around and falling. Weed smell everywhere.

 

[caribou_birdie]

I haven't finished reading the thread, but would like to point out a few things as I see a common theme in the responses.

Nashville is a party town. 99% of the people who leave the bars are as intoxicated as Riley appeared to be. As someone who once lived there, it was commonplace to see people stumbling and falling everywhere you turn on a Friday or Saturday night. I am not saying its the right thing to do, but most folks look the other way. If it becomes a public drunk issue, the police will show up eventually and handle the situation.
There is no way to charge a bartender with overserving. His buddies could have been buying rounds for everyone, taking turns. A bartender would not have known how intoxicated he was unless they laid eyes on him personally, and at some point they did, and they cut him off.
You don't get passes out in Nashville. If you leave, you pay another cover to come back in, and the covers are usually $25+ per bar. At 10pm on a Friday, it is possible his buddies didn't want to leave that early and if they were drunk too, they probably couldn't tell how bad off he was. That may have been what they meant by saying "weren't allowed to leave" or they may have had a bill they needed to pay up for as well.
I am absolutely not making excuses for anyone involved in this situation. I am just pointing out that the number of intoxicated people that walk in and out of the doors on a weekend night in Nashville are staggering and there will most likely never be any policing of "how drunk is too drunk" to leave alone.
Also, holding someone against their will is illegal. Even if you are just trying to make them wait on an Uber.

 

[caribou_birdie]

- While his friends paid bill, Riley was escorted out and then told/was encouraged by bouncers to leave front door area.

SBM- this is correct. They will absolutely NOT let you stand in front of the bar. They are very quick in Nashville to yell at you to "Come Inside or Keep Moving"!

 

[whitelilac]

Since Nashville is such a party town, and intoxicated people are common on the streets particularly on weekends, have accidents occurred in the past especially in the water? Does the boardwalk area have balustrades or barriers? Is the river very accessible from the edges? What about the bridges? Are they secure to walk over while stumbling all over the place?

 

[JosieMae]

So many folks pre-judging the bar/bartender for (second-hand quote) "overserving".

What do we know, really?

Well, we know they were bar-hopping, according to the mom. That's about it.

So maybe Riley had just arrived at the bar. Maybe he didn't even have a drink yet at that particular bar. Maybe he did, but it was ordered by a buddy who was buying a round. Maybe the place was packed and noisy and no employee even saw his condition until he was asked to leave.

People seem to have this vision of Riley and his frat brothers sitting on stools at the bar for hours. Like jaded middle-aged businessmen or something. I live in a college town. Believe me, it's all a lot more chaotic than that.

 

[Venus81]

Since Nashville is such a party town, and intoxicated people are common on the streets particularly on weekends, have accidents occurred in the past especially in the water? Does the boardwalk area have balustrades or barriers? Is the river very accessible from the edges? What about the bridges? Are they secure to walk over while stumbling all over the place?

There are railings in place all around the lower Broadway area where the bars are, but the further north you go along the river (the way Riley was headed), the more easily accessible it is.

I'm not sure I've heard of a tourist going missing this way (not saying it hasn't happened though), but definitely several times a year you will hear about a body being found in the river, usually homeless, as there are several encampments along the riverbank.

 

[whitelilac]

Homeless encampments along the riverbanks ....I hope they've been checked out. You never know. There was a case here a few years ago when a student disappeared. She was found weeks later in a homeless shelter and didn't know who she was....she had a breakdown of some sort.
Something organic may have happened to Riley, exacerbated by the amount of alcohol he had consumed, causing a break with reality. No one else in the group appears to have become as severely affected as Riley was (that we know of).
I know........clinging on to hope here.

 

[LaborDayRN]

Will the Apple watch have his # of steps and heartbeats stored in the cloud? I think my DD does that for fitness reasons.

Let's go back to the bar. He was kicked out while trying to pay his bill. The bartender had cut him off from having any more cocktails as he'd been overserved (liability?).

Here's the kicker: His buddies let him leave alone while highly intoxicated. Ladies don't leave their friends alone and guys shouldn't either. Ever.

His "vacation buddies" his frat bros return to their hotel and Riley is not there. Why are they surprised?

18 Hours Ago
MSN
MOO

Sorry, I'm late to this thread but wanted to add this:

Yes. A liability. Many, many moons ago I was a waitress (during college). I worked at an Italian restaurant. I had to refuse to serve (alcohol) to several patrons.
Some came in inebriated and some had simply had "enough" to drink. They were asked to have some coffee and wait to drive and some we actually had to call LE because they were harassing us for more alcohol and would't leave. This was in California. I'm not sure what other states laws are like.

• Selling, furnishing, or giving alcoholic beverages to obviously intoxicated individuals is a misdemeanor offense, carrying penalties of up to $1,000 in fines and/or six months in county jail. Preventing overconsumption and monitoring the intoxication levels of patrons are crucial aspects of responsible beverage service.

Reference:
California Alcohol Laws - Serving Alcohol Inc.

 

[StarRemy8]

Nice Google map of Riley's path

https://twitter.com/x/status/1768005270595149912

After watching this I am even a little more confused at where he thought he was going. Cleary he was extremely intoxicated but with the hotel not being far from the bar he went way off the beaten path. I'd assume they walked the few blocks down Broadway from the hotel to the bar so he would have known it wasnt that far and also right near the main strip.

So to be walking down a part of the city that looks to be a lot of corporate buildings that are closed on the weekend and less people around to then go way down towards the river with most likely fewer people and/or much action you'd think he'd realize and at the very least turned around to try and get back closer to the main strip or at least where there were more people and open businesses.

Again I realize he was very intoxicated but it must have been to the point that he really couldnt even make heads or tales of his surroundings completely changing or anything in general at that point. However, he was able to walk over half a mile through so many intersections without being hit by a car so then it makes you wonder if he was able to tell when to stop and start walking based on the lights/signs changing.

He was said to be such a friendly guy too that would talk to anyone so it's just so heartbreaking that he didnt ask someone for directions/help or if he did that they didnt help him enough that night. Other than the river I just dont know where he could possibly be where he hasnt been seen at this point...where are you Riley?

 

[loveisthemovement]

Gosh, we see so many of these cases here....younger guys, a little less than sober, wandering off and water nearby. I am really hoping for the best for Riley.

 

[x_files]

Sad. The bartender felt zero responsibility or compassion for a young man “over-served” at the bar. The best option is to kick him to the street? What time did this “bounce” occur from the club?
If a business associate notices someone so inebriated that they feel compelled to make them leave…they should at least call a cab or Uber. Senseless and genuinely inhumane.

It should be the law.

 

[x_files]

Gosh, we see so many of these cases here....younger guys, a little less than sober, wandering off and water nearby. I am really hoping for the best for Riley.

Does anyone have any idea why drunk men gravitate towards water vs women? I find it odd!
I know drunk logic is NOt normal logic but why aren't women gravitating towards water as well?

I found this article by Anderson Cooper on CNN

CNN.com - Anderson Cooper 360° Blog