The family of Riley Strain is giving a live press conference at 2 p.m. ET. You can watch that in the video player above.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – The search for missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain continued into its tenth day Monday.
On Sunday, March 17, the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed Strain’s bank card was found off of Gay Street along the riverbank.
On Monday, March 18, police released a new video showing Strain interacting with an officer near the area where his phone was last pinged. The officer had been called to the area to investigate a car burglary.
Police noted in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that Strain did not appear to be in distress.
“If an altercation, a physical altercation would’ve happened with Riley – a fight, an argument, or something – as family, we’re hoping, man, that cop would’ve heard something. He’s down there looking for mischief,” close family friend Chris Dingman said. “Did he get in a vehicle? Because at 6’ 5”, 6’ 6”, blonde hair, blue-eyed boy, you just don’t vanish like he has. Somebody, if there is a crime involved, eight days into this has perfectly created the perfect crime.”
Dingman said so far there were no signs of blood or Strain’s clothing in the area around the Cumberland River. He wondered if Riley had gotten into a vehicle.
The Nashville Office of Emergency Management (OEM) told Nexstar’s WKRN they had not been called in to assist with search efforts Monday. Previously, crews had been searching along the Cumberland River with boats, drones, and K-9s.
The MNPD told WKRN they believed helicopters would fly over the area Monday, but detectives were focused on sorting through tips and looking into cell phone data.
The women who discovered Strain’s bank card Sunday continued to search throughout the day Monday.
Strain’s loved ones said they would like to see more resources devoted to the search, including agencies like the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), FBI, and Department of Homeland Security.
“More eyes, if we have more eyes, more investigators, and more resources, maybe we can find him quicker. They find a card that we have been by every day – the police have been by every day – and find it miraculously. You couldn’t put two and two more together on why we should have more police involvement. I even mentioned the FBI,” Dingman said.
The TBI told WKRN their agency has forwarded several tips to the MNPD, however, their assistance had not been formally requested, which is a requirement for the agency to get involved.
“We first thought the area had been searched pretty well and they find this little, small debit card. It just leaves you to question how well it was searched, maybe here in the future when these more organized search parties come through here, maybe they’ll find something else. We just remain hopeful. Riley’s captured the hearts of people across the country and we thank everybody for their thoughts and prayers and their efforts on trying to find him,” Strain’s father, Ryan Gilbert, said.
Strain’s family told WKRN they had reviewed surveillance footage with police and were able to see footage of Strain inside Luke’s 32 Bridge, as well as near a food truck.
The MNPD said investigators have found no evidence of foul play.
Comments are closed.