Riley Strain’s family is beyond upset by the “appalling” behavior of his fraternity brothers after he went missing.
Last month, the college student vanished during a night out with his Delta Chi bros. On March 8, the group bar-hopped around downtown Nashville before ending at Luke Bryan’s place. Riley got kicked out of the bar and told his friends he was heading back to their hotel, but he never made it. No one ever saw him again. Following a two-week search, police found the 22-year-old’s body in the Cumberland River. No foul play was involved in his death, and the coroner ruled it as “accidental.” The toxicology results are still pending.
Related: Witness In Riley Strain Case Recanted Their Statement Under Interrogation!
Now, nearly a month later, the family has expressed their frustration with the frat brothers. Why? Riley’s friends never called the police when they returned home and saw he wasn’t there after their night out. His mom Michelle Whiteid said in an interview with NewsNation:
“Why wouldn’t they have called the police when they got back at 3:15 in the morning and didn’t see him then? Why wouldn’t they have called the police? I don’t know.”
According to stepdad Chris Whiteid, the fraternity brothers didn’t call the authorities until almost 14 hours after Riley was last seen. He added:
“We called them on the way down. It was probably close to 12 o’clock and they were just going to the Sheriff’s office to report him missing.”
It’s awful in retrospect — but sadly all too true that college guys don’t always make plans to check in with one another the way girls do. If they had, his disappearance would have registered sooner. If he was drunk enough to get kicked out of a bar, someone should have been there to make sure he got home safe.
But what really hurt the family? When Michelle and Chris got to Nashville on March 9, the pals immediately abandoned them to continue partying. Yeah. Instead of helping to find their missing friend, they went out to a formal. Michelle said:
“So when we got there, several of the boys were out front with a police officer. The boys stayed out for a while and then they all of a sudden disappeared. They ended up back out a little while later in their dress clothes to go out to their formal that night.”
So much for brotherhood, right? With no help from the fraternity, Chris and Michelle spent hours searching for Riley in multiple hospitals in Nashville. But their efforts were in vain. It was only when they returned to the hotel later that they saw the frat brothers again — acting all nonchalant about the situation. Chris recalled:
“We come back and they’re coming back, some of them from the party and they’re waving at us as we’re sitting in the truck. How does that make you feel?”
Shouldn’t these guys be more concerned that their friend disappeared suddenly? Especially since Michelle fears he could have been drugged at one of the bars they went to together! Jeez. At first, Chris said they offered support amid the search for Riley. However, they never lived up to that promise. As Chris shared, they didn’t lift a finger to help them at the end of the day:
“We didn’t know what we needed at that point in time. But you would’ve thought that they would’ve at least been out searching, trying to do something. It wasn’t.”
Awful. Riley’s father Ryan Gilbert added:
“We weren’t very happy with them, to say the least. It’s appalling.”
We can’t imagine what must have gone through their heads as they watched the lack of care from the frat brothers. So sad. A month into the investigation, Michelle hasn’t talked with the group about what happened to Riley that night. She even feels the organization “maybe” has information they haven’t told anyone about his disappearance. Whoa! Michelle added:
“I haven’t sat down and talked to any of them to say ‘Tell me your whole entire story.’ Would I like that? Yes. It would be nice.”
At this point, the family just wants answers. Chris pleaded:
“I don’t understand why they wouldn’t have reached out to us, wanting to provide information from that night. Maybe I’m crazy, but why should we have to reach out to them and beg them for information on a missing brother?”
Our hearts continued to break for this family. Watch the interview (below):
[Image via Metro Nashville Police Department, NewsNation/YouTube]
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