'No Clear Evidence' College Student Riley Strain Was Given Too Much Alcohol Before He Drowned: Officials (2024)

Investigators did not find that 22-year-old college student Riley Strain was overserved on the March night he went missing in Nashville, Tennessee, and subsequently drowned while intoxicated, state officials said.

In a statement on Thursday, June 27, a spokesman for the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) said that "a key responsibility of businesses licensed to sell alcohol is to avoid serving visibly intoxicated individuals" and in the wake of Strain's disappearance and accidental death, the agency opened an investigation into whether a bar that the University of Missouri student visited had broken the law by overserving him.

"TABC agents conducted a comprehensive investigation, following every available evidentiary lead. They interviewed numerous individuals, reviewed purchase records, and scrutinized extensive video footage provided by businesses from that evening," the spokesman said.

"While the circ*mstances of Mr. Strain’s death are tragic, the TABC investigation into whether he was served alcohol while visibly intoxicated on the night of March 8, 2024, did not result in any concrete evidence in the form of eyewitness testimony or video proof of a violation," the spokesman continued.

They went on to say: "Evidence including toxicology reports demonstrate that Mr. Strain became intoxicated over the course of the evening, but there is no clear evidence that he was served an alcoholic beverage while visibly intoxicated at a licensed premises."

Strain, was found dead on Friday, March 22. Police have said his body was found in the Cumberland River in West Nashville, “approximately 8 miles from downtown.”

According to an autopsy report that was released three months after the discovery of his body, Strain’s cause of death was listed as drowning and ethanol intoxication.

The manner of death was characterized as accidental, and the report also stated that Strain had a blood alcohol content of .228, about three times the legal limit.

Strain's mother, Michelle Whiteid,previously told PEOPLEshe spoke with her son thenight he was last seen: "I said, ‘Well, you boys be safe. Make good choices. I love you guys.’ And he said, “I love you, too.' And that’s it, that’s the last I have heard from him.”

The two were close, Whiteid said. “If he was having a bad day at school, he would call me and we would talk,” she said. “I’d be like, ‘You just got to get through it, Bub. Not every day is going to be perfect, but you got to find the good in everything.’ ”

She remembered her son as the type of personwho "just always wants to make sure that his mama is okay, no matter what. He’s such a great kid.”

One week into the search for Strain, the TABC announced they was investigating whether he was overserved the night he went missing.

Christopher Whiteid, Strain’s stepfather, previously told PEOPLE his stepson was traveling with Delta Chi fraternity brothers to Nashville as part of their annual formal.

Strain visited a number of locations that evening, including country music star Luke Bryan’s bar on Broadway, which he was later asked to leave.

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In a statement shared with PEOPLE on March 15, TABC spokesman Aaron Rummage said “serving alcoholic beverages to someone who is visibly intoxicated” is against the law. Violations are considered class A misdemeanors.

Rummage also said, “there are no specific rules or statutes that governs escorting out intoxicated patrons from their businesses or providing assistance in getting someone home.”

In a separate statement, also shared with PEOPLE on March 15, the TC Restaurant Group, which oversees Bryan’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, said it had provided information to help authorities’ investigation, including “all security camera footage, photos of Riley at our establishment with detailed time stamps, transaction records, and staff accounts.”

“Additionally, we proactively engaged in communication with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission and will continue to communicate and provide any records needed to aid their ongoing investigation," the company said.

The TC Restaurant Group said Strain “purchased and was served one alcoholic drink and two waters” before the establishment’s security team opted to “escort him from the venue” out the front door onto Broadway around 9:35 p.m. local time on March 8.

“He was followed down the stairs with one member of his party,” the group said, adding, “The individual with Riley did not exit and returned upstairs.”

Whiteid told PEOPLE that fraternity members claimed “the bouncers wouldn’t let them out with him” and that the group was “trying to get their bill paid” when they got separated.

Strain was last seen just before 10 p.m. that same evening.

His body was recovered almost exactly two weeks later.