What we know about the college student who disappeared in Nashville

By Lauren Mascarenhas and Melissa Alonso, CNN

(CNN) — Authorities in Tennessee are searching for a 22-year-old college student who vanished after leaving a downtown Nashville bar more than a week ago.

Riley Strain, a student at the University of Missouri, was on a weekend trip to Nashville when he was kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge, country singer Luke Bryan’s bar in Nashville, authorities said.

Strain’s friends and family have been unable to reach him since March 8, and police searches have been unsuccessful. Police are urging anyone with information about Strain’s whereabouts to come forward.

Here’s what we know about the student’s disappearance.

Student disappeared after being asked to leave bar

Strain hasn’t been seen since he left Luke’s 32 Bridge alone on March 8, according to statements from police and the bar.

He purchased one alcoholic drink and two waters at the bar, according to a statement on Instagram from TC Restaurant Group and Luke’s 32 Bridge.

“At 9:38 p.m., our security team made a decision based on our conduct standards to escort him from the venue through our Broadway exit at the front of our building,” the statement reads. One member of his party followed him down the stairs, according to the statement. But this “individual with Riley did not exit and returned upstairs.”

“The bartender said he had been overserved,” Strain’s stepfather Chris Whiteid told CNN affiliate WZTV. “He was trying to pay his tab.”

After Strain left the bar, he had a brief encounter with a police officer, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, which released bodycam video of the encounter in a Monday Facebook post.

The video shows “Strain’s brief exchange of greetings with Officer Reginald Young on Gay Street, south of the Woodland Street bridge,” the department said.

“Riley did not appear distressed. Officer Young was there on a vehicle burglary call and remained on that portion of Gay Street for 45 minutes. No video has been discovered that shows Riley away from Gay Street after the 9:52 p.m. timeframe,” the post adds.

Strain is 6 foot 5 inches, “with a thin build, blue eyes and light brown hair,” the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a post on X. He was “last seen at 9:52 p.m. Friday on Gay St. after drinking downtown,” another post says.

Strain was in Nashville attending a private event, the University of Missouri said in a statement, adding university officials are in touch with his family and Nashville authorities as the search continues.

Police searched the area, including a riverbank near where he was last seen on video, with a helicopter and by ground Monday. On Tuesday, the department released surveillance video it said showed Strain, wearing a two-tone shirt, crossing a street at 9:47 p.m.

Bryan, the country singer, said in an Instagram story Tuesday he is praying for Strain’s safe return and urged anyone with information about his whereabouts to come forward.

Whiteid, Strain’s stepfather, said the disappearance is the family’s worst nightmare.

“He talks to his mom three or four times a day,” he told WZTV. “For him to go this long without talking is not normal by any means.”

“He’s my baby,” Strain’s mother, Michelle Whiteid, told WZTV.

Police search turns to riverbank

As the days passed since Strain vanished, the search has taken police to a river near where he was last spotted.

Though Strain’s cell phone was off by the time police began looking into his whereabouts, Verizon Wireless said the last known location of the phone was less than a mile from a cell tower located at 19 Oldham Street – near the Cumberland River, according to the report. Police said they searched the area with no luck.

On Thursday, Nashville police said its urban search and rescue team was searching for Strain “along the brush line of the riverbank.”

Strain’s bank card was found “on the embankment between Gay St. and the Cumberland River,” according to a Sunday X post from Nashville police.

TC Restaurant and Luke’s 32 Bridge said in their Instagram post they were working to provide police with security camera footage as well as “any other potentially helpful information” to help with the search.

The Tennessee Alcohol and Beverage Commission said it is investigating the incident. In a release Tuesday, the commission said it has worked with law enforcement “to determine where (Strain) was served alcohol that night,” and that “all licensed establishments questioned have been cooperative.” Last week, the commission separately noted although state law prohibits serving alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person, “there are no specific rules or statutes that governs escorting out intoxicated patrons from their businesses or providing assistance in getting someone home.”

CNN’s Sarah Dewberry, Jamiel Lynch and Zoe Sottile contributed to this report.

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