Riley Strain’s cause of death has been confirmed by an autopsy report obtained by TMZ.
According to the report, the 22-year-old college student died from drowning and ethanol intoxication. The manner of his death was listed as accidental.
The news comes three months after Strain’s mother shared her son’s final text message.
Strain, a University of Missouri senior, made headlines in the beginning of March when he went missing while on a trip to downtown Nashville with his fraternity brothers.
The night he disappeared, Strain was asked to leave Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink. Although the people he was with did not see him again once he left the bar, surveillance cameras, including a police officer’s body camera, spotted him several more times before he disappeared.
One of Strain’s friends called police the following day to file a missing person’s report. Authorities began searching for the missing college student, but it wasn’t until March 22, two weeks after Strain was last seen, that they received a report of a body in the Cumberland River.
Officials confirmed the body belonged to Riley Strain. He was found eight miles away from where he was last seen.
#BREAKING: Riley Strain Press Conference:
-Around 7:28am, worker discovered body
-When removing an object from river, the body surfaced
-Fire Department retrieved body
-Medical Examiner reviewed body, confirmed to be Riley Strain
-Family has been contacted
-No signs of foul play… pic.twitter.com/ZeBrwJeDou
— Alex Caprariello (@alcaprari23) March 22, 2024
Results from the reports released by the Tennessee’s Chief Medical Examiner also showed Strain had Delta 9 in his system and his blood alcohol level was .228.
The autopsy noted there were no significant signs of trauma.
I remember when I first heard about Riley Strain, I had so much hope that he would be found alive. It’s so tragic his life had to end this way. Every day I continue to pray for his family.