‘It’s Devastating’: Missouri Student Has Been Missing for Nearly a Week After Reportedly Being Overserved and Kicked Out of Luke Bryan’s Nashville Bar
Riley Strain was last seen in Nashville with his fraternity brothers at Luke Bryan’s bar before going missing. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Riley Strain, a 22-year-old college student at the University of Missouri, is missing, according to reporting by The Associated Press. Strain was last seen on Friday at Luke’s 32 Bridge, a Nashville bar owned by the country singer Luke Bryan.
According to CNN, Strain was allegedly kicked out of the bar.
“The bartender said he had been overserved,” Strain’s stepfather, Chris Strain, said, according to FOX 17. “He was trying to pay his tab.”
Claims have been made online that Strain was escorted out of the bar via a back door, which is why his friends lost sight of him and weren’t allowed to come with him.
Local Nashville police shared footage with the public featuring Strain crossing the downtown street on Friday night.
“I just need to know where my son is,” Strain’s mother, Michelle Whiteid, said, according to The Associated Press. “We talk every day, multiple times a day. This is the longest I’ve gone without talking to him. It’s devastating. I just want to find him and hug him.”
Strain was on a trip with members of his fraternity. The Associated Press reported that Chris Strain claimed some of his friends got in touch with him before he disappeared.
“The boys called him, and he said, ‘I’m walking back to my hotel,'” Chris Strain said.
CNN reported that his friends tried to search for his location on Snapchat. According to a police report, they called him multiple times, but the calls were sent to voicemail.
Scripps News reported that 16 hours after Strain was last seen, his friends called 911 and reported him as missing.
Law enforcement arrived and searched the surrounding location, checking a nearby riverbank.
CNN reported that Verizon Wireless shared that the last location of Strain’s phone was near a cell phone tower at 19 Oldham Street.
On Luke’s 32 Bridge’s Instagram account, multiple social media users have taken to the platform to voice their dismay at the restaurant’s choice to kick out the young man without ensuring he got home safe in his inebriated state.
“Taking people out the back door is sketchy,” a comment read.
Yet CNN reports Bryant took to Instagram to express support for the Strain family, and requested that anybody with information about the missing college student come forward.
“Your bar was negligent and needs to be held accountable.” a comment with 65 likes read.
Authorities are still actively searching for Riley Strain and urge anyone with information to call the police.
According to CNN, Lukes 32 Bridge issued a statement that read the following:
“TC Restaurant Group, operator and owner of Luke’s 32 Bridge is continuing to work closely with Metro Nashville Police Department to provide security footage and any other potentially helpful information to aid in the search for Riley Strain. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones for his safe return.”
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