Toxicology Report Finds Riley Strain Had A BAC Of .228, THC In His System At The Time Of His Death In Nashville

Finally some answers. It's been three months now since the body of Riley Strain, the 22-year old University of Missouri student who went missing on March 8 in downtown Nashville, was found in the Cumberland River after a two-week search. Strain, who was in town for a fraternity formal, was last seen after being asked to leave Luke Bryan’s lower Broadway bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge, and then for some reason walked in the opposite direction of his hotel. Authorities said at the time there was no sign of foul play, and Luke’s bar released a statement during the search clarifying that he was served only one alcoholic drink and two waters at their bar before being asked to leave. The death was ruled an accident, and Nashville Metro Police have since closed their investigation, but the family says they are searching for answers amid what they say are still lingering questions that they have about their loved one’s death. Strain’s mother, Michelle Whiteid, raised questions about a text that she received from Strain shortly before his disappearance about a drink that he said didn’t taste right: “He had sent me a text and said that he was drinking a rum and coke and it didn’t taste good. And I said, ‘Well you probably shouldn’t drink it then.’ He goes, ‘Well it tastes like barbeque.’ And I go, ‘Well that sounds awful.’ And he says, ‘Well it sounds good but it’s not.’” Whiteid says she’s now concerned that there was something in that drink: “Maybe there was something in it that shouldn’t have been.” It’s not believed that Riley was at Luke Bryan’s bar when he sent that text, and the family has been able to piece together the bars that he visited before he went missing using Strain’s bank account information, which shows that he was at Miranda Lambert’s Casa Rosa, Garth Brooks’ Friends In Low Places, and Kid Rock’s Honky Tonk before they went to Luke’s 32 Bridge. Obviously the family was hoping that some of their questions would be answered by the toxicology report, and now we know what that report found. According to the report conducted as part of the autopsy by the Davidson County Medical Examiner, Strain had a blood alcohol content of .228 at the time of his death, nearly 3 times the legal limit to drive of .08. And he was also found to have Delta-9 THC in his system, which is a hemp-derived version of THC that's legal and widely available in Tennessee. The report noted that there were no signs of Rohypnol, or roofies, in his system at the time of his death. While the toxicology report answers some of the remaining questions about Strain's tragic death, his family has also ordered a second autopsy and toxicology report from a private examiner, and still has concerns about some of Strain's missing clothing, as well as the fact that there was no water in his lungs at the time of his death. Family friend and spokesman Chris Dingman appeared on News Nation recently and spoke about the concerns that the family still have over the passing of their loved one: “One thing that threw the family for a loop was the coroner going on record with a news person in Nashville stating about the lack of water in his lungs. It raises more questions. I’m not a crime drama person by no means, but usually water in the lungs means they were alive when they went into the water.” And Dingman also says that Strain’s body was found without his pants or boots: “Unfortunately the only thing that was found with him as the police stated in the report was the watch and the shirt. Everything else was not with him when he was found.” It's a sad truth at this point that we may never know exactly what happened to Riley Strain on that night. But from what we know, the evidence seems to point to it all being a tragic accident.