The two-week hunt for missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain is finished, with authorities recovering the 22-year-old's body from the Cumberland River on Friday morning.
Strain's body was discovered eight miles downriver from where he was last seen, still wearing the black and white shirt he was wearing when he went missing on March 8 after being booted from Luke's 32 Bridge in Downtown Nashville, according to Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake. Authorities do not suspect foul play in his disappearance or death, Drake stated just hours after the 22-year-old was discovered dead.
Around 7:30 a.m., barge operators conducting normal checks near the river in The Nations region reported Strain's body to police, according to Drake. First responders used a boat ramp at the North Nashville Exxon site to enter the water and rescue the body from downstream.
"They noticed what appeared to be Riley Strain pop up," Drake explained, adding that the Nashville Fire Department used boats to remove the body from the river. "The medical examiner's office reviewed the body and we've confirmed that it is Riley Strain."
Strain's body was discovered after a two-week search by air, boat, and foot that included the Metro Nashville Police Department, Nashville Fire Department, Nashville's Office of Emergency Management, Cheatham County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, United Cajun Navy, and numerous volunteers.
Officials urged everyone on or near the river to keep a watch out for any signs of Strain. Search personnel employed sonar, dogs, and other techniques to locate the college student.
"We have reports that normally under these circumstances with his height and weight, that he could've surfaced in 14 to 20 days," Drake said in a statement. "It's the 14th day, so we expected to find him shortly. In fact, our search crews planned to enter the water here and search lower down. We were at the correct place; it was just unlucky. There is no evidence of foul play."
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