The toxicology report for a University of Missouri student found dead after going missing near the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville has been released.On Tuesday, the Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed the results of Riley Strain's autopsy.The Nashville Medical Examiner's findings supported investigators' belief that the Mizzou senior's death was the result of an accidental drowning.The autopsy results were held until the toxicology report was completed. Those tests found alcohol and traces of Delta 9, a legal form of THC available in Tennessee, in Strain's system.Strain's blood alcohol concentration was 0.228, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08.Strain was last seen on the night of March 8, 2024, during a night out with fraternity brothers in Nashville. His body was found nearly two weeks later, on March 22, in a river not too far from downtown.The 22-year-old was in his senior year.Strain, a University of Missouri student, went missing in Tennessee for nearly two weeks before his body was found in Nashville's Cumberland River.According to Chris Dingman, a family friend, the 22-year-old's family had also ordered a second separate autopsy after his body was recovered without his pants, wallet, and cowboy boots.“The only thing that was found with him, as the police stated in the report, was the watch and the shirt,” Dingman told host Brian Entin during an interview on "Elizabeth Vargas Reports" earlier this year.MNPD has maintained that Strain's death appeared accidental and that no foul play is suspected. Dingman did confirm that there were no apparent signs of trauma found in the autopsy. The family was reportedly confused by the coroner saying there was no water found in Strain's lungs, which led them to ask for a second autopsy from a private company in Nashville.It is possible that Strain could drown and not have water in his lungs. The reason likely being laryngospasm, which is when the body forcefully closes airways as water attempts to enter the body. Metro Nashville Police Department issued a comment on the medical examiner's findings:The Riley Strain autopsy report released today by the Medical Examiner, which found that the 22-year-old died as the result of accidental drowning and ethyl alcohol intoxication, corroborates the findings of the investigation conducted by MNPD missing person detectives.The police department is now officially classifying Strain’s death as accidental.The MNPD’s investigation found that Strain consumed multiple alcoholic drinks at different establishments after arriving in Nashville with friends on March 8. The investigation found that he had become separated from his friends and was noticeably impaired as he walked onto Gay Street adjacent to the Cumberland River on the night of March 8. Detectives have concluded that Strain, who was unfamiliar with Gay Street and the steep embankment leading to the river, did not realize the terrain conditions in the darkness as he stepped toward the overgrown area and fell down the embankment into the water. Due to recent rain, the river was very high that night with a swift current. Strain’s body was found in the river in West Nashville on the morning of March 22 several miles from Gay Street. The MNPD continues to extend its heartfelt condolences to Riley Strain’s family and friends.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. —
The toxicology report for a University of Missouri student found dead after going missing near the Cumberland River in downtown Nashville has been released.
On Tuesday, the Metro Nashville Police Department confirmed the results of Riley Strain's autopsy.
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The Nashville Medical Examiner's findings supported investigators' belief that the Mizzou senior's death was the result of an accidental drowning.
The autopsy results were held until the toxicology report was completed. Those tests found alcohol and traces of Delta 9, a legal form of THC available in Tennessee, in Strain's system.
Strain's blood alcohol concentration was 0.228, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08.
Police: Body of missing Mizzou student Riley Strain recovered from Cumberland River, no foul play suspected
Strain was last seen on the night of March 8, 2024, during a night out with fraternity brothers in Nashville. His body was found nearly two weeks later, on March 22, in a river not too far from downtown.
The 22-year-old was in his senior year.
Strain, a University of Missouri student, went missing in Tennessee for nearly two weeks before his body was found in Nashville's Cumberland River.
According to Chris Dingman, a family friend, the 22-year-old's family had also ordered a second separate autopsy after his body was recovered without his pants, wallet, and cowboy boots.
“The only thing that was found with him, as the police stated in the report, was the watch and the shirt,” Dingman told host Brian Entin during an interview on "Elizabeth Vargas Reports" earlier this year.
MNPD has maintained that Strain's death appeared accidental and that no foul play is suspected.
Dingman did confirm that there were no apparent signs of trauma found in the autopsy. The family was reportedly confused by the coroner saying there was no water found in Strain's lungs, which led them to ask for a second autopsy from a private company in Nashville.
It is possible that Strain could drown and not have water in his lungs. The reason likely being laryngospasm, which is when the body forcefully closes airways as water attempts to enter the body.
Metro Nashville Police Department issued a comment on the medical examiner's findings:
The Riley Strain autopsy report released today by the Medical Examiner, which found that the 22-year-old died as the result of accidental drowning and ethyl alcohol intoxication, corroborates the findings of the investigation conducted by MNPD missing person detectives.The police department is now officially classifying Strain’s death as accidental.
The MNPD’s investigation found that Strain consumed multiple alcoholic drinks at different establishments after arriving in Nashville with friends on March 8. The investigation found that he had become separated from his friends and was noticeably impaired as he walked onto Gay Street adjacent to the Cumberland River on the night of March 8. Detectives have concluded that Strain, who was unfamiliar with Gay Street and the steep embankment leading to the river, did not realize the terrain conditions in the darkness as he stepped toward the overgrown area and fell down the embankment into the water.
Due to recent rain, the river was very high that night with a swift current. Strain’s body was found in the river in West Nashville on the morning of March 22 several miles from Gay Street.
The MNPD continues to extend its heartfelt condolences to Riley Strain’s family and friends.
