![Riley Strain]()
Lawyering up?
It's been over a month since the body of the 22-year old University of Missouri student was pulled from the Cumberland River near downtown Nashville after a two-week search. Strain was last seen after being asked to leave Luke Bryan's lower Broadway bar, Luke's 32 Bridge, and then for some reason walked in the opposite direction of his hotel.
Authorities say there was no sign of foul play, and Luke's bar
released a statement during the search clarifying that he was served only one alcoholic drink and two waters at their bar before being asked to leave.
The death was
ruled an accident, and Nashville Metro Police have since closed their investigation, but the family says they are searching for answers amid what they say are still lingering questions that they have about their loved one’s death.
The family has been on a desperate search for answers while trying to piece together what happened to Riley the night that he disappeared, and resolve questions that they still have about just what happened that led him to the Cumberland River.
Family friend and spokesman Chris Dingman appeared on
News Nation recently and spoke about the
concerns that the family still have over the passing of their loved one:
“One thing that threw the family for a loop was the coroner going on record with a news person in Nashville stating about the lack of water in his lungs.
It raises more questions. I’m not a crime drama person by no means, but usually water in the lungs means they were alive when they went into the water.”
And Dingman also says that Strain’s body was found without his pants or boots:
“Unfortunately the only thing that was found with him as the police stated in the report was the watch and the shirt. Everything else was not with him when he was found.”
Strain was reportedly wearing square-toed Justin cowboy boots when he was missing, as well as jeans. His wallet was also missing.
And Strain's mother also has questions about a
text that she received from Strain shortly before his disappearance about a drink that he said didn't taste right:
“He had sent me a text and said that he was drinking a rum and coke and it didn’t taste good. And I said, ‘Well you probably shouldn’t drink it then.’
He goes, ‘Well it tastes like barbeque.’
And I go, ‘Well that sounds awful.’ And he says, ‘Well it sounds good but it’s not.'”
Whiteid says she’s now concerned that there was something in that drink:
“Maybe there was something in it that shouldn’t have been.”
It's not believed that he was at Luke Bryan's bar when he sent that text, and the family has been able to piece together the bars that he visited before he went missing using Strain's bank account information, which shows that he was at Miranda Lambert's Casa Rosa, Garth Brooks' Friends In Low Places, and Kid Rock's Honky Tonk before they went to Luke's 32 Bridge.
Obviously the family was hoping that some of their questions would be answered by the toxicology report. And
according to the Davidson County Medical Examiner, that report has finally been completed.
The toxicology report, along with the autopsy report, will be released to the public at some point in the near future, though it's not yet clear when that would be made public.
But in the meantime, it's been reported that Strain's family has also hired high-profile personal injury law firm Morgan & Morgan to represent them in the aftermath of their loved one's death.
Obviously any potential lawsuit has not been announced or filed yet, so it's not clear who any claims would be directed towards (if any happen at all).
But it seems like we're closer to finally getting at least some of the answers about what happened to Riley that fateful night.
