Riley Strain’s Official Cause Of Death Finally Revealed

We finally have answers about how Riley Strain died.

First, a refresher on this case, which we’ve been reporting on for a while: back on March 8, the 22-year-old college student went missing during a night out with his Delta Chi fraternity brothers in downtown Nashville, Tennessee. The friends went to several bars before ending the night at Luke Bryan’s establishment, Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink.

There, Riley got kicked out for being way too intoxicated. While the University of Missouri student told his pals he was going to their hotel afterward, he sadly never made it back. A few people bumped into him that night. However, no one ever saw Riley again after that.

When the frat bros eventually returned to the hotel, they tried calling his phone, but he never answered. Since Riley wasn’t at the hotel and not answering their calls, you would think his friends would be super concerned at that point, right? That they would immediately contact the police? However, it wasn’t until 14 hours later that they reached out to the authorities to report Riley missing, his stepdad Chris Whiteid previously said. Jeez.

It’s bad enough that no one made sure Riley returned to the hotel safely since he was super drunk, and that they waited so long to notify anybody of his disappearance. But what’s worse? As his parents desperately tried to locate their missing son, the frat bros continued to party — instead of helping out! Awful. Eventually, following a two-week search, police found Riley dead in the Cumberland River.

The initial autopsy determined no foul play was involved in his death, and the coroner ruled it as accidental. At the time, the toxicology report was still pending. However, Riley’s family questioned the results of the report from the beginning and hired a private company to perform another autopsy. Following that find, a family friend named Chris Dingman told NewsNation that the coroner found Riley oddly had no water in his lungs, which raised a lot of questions for the family. Riley’s mom, Michelle Whiteid, then wondered if he was potentially drugged at one of the bars he went to as her son texted her that his rum coke tasted odd. Oh no…

As his parents continued to search for answers about what happened that night, one person came forward to say they were the last person to see and speak to Riley. Unfortunately, that lead went nowhere. Eventually, the witness recanted their statement during a police interrogation. It turned out that they actually saw someone else on March 8 — not Riley.

Now, months later, the full autopsy results are finally in. According to an autopsy report obtained by TMZ on Tuesday, Riley died from drowning and ethanol intoxication, with the manner of his death cited as accidental. There were zero signs of significant trauma to his body. What’s more, the outlet reported that he had a blood alcohol content of 0.228, and traces of THC were found in his system when his body was examined, as well.

So, so sad. Hopefully, this report will bring some closure to his family. We can’t imagine going through such an awful situation with such a young person with his life ahead of him. Rest In Peace…

[Image via Metro Nashville PD/X (Twitter)]