“We’re gonna find him,” Riley Strain’s mother, Michelle, tells Inside Edition.
The parents of a Missouri college senior who went missing after leaving a bar in Nashville on a fraternity trip are speaking out about the search for their child.
Surveillance video shows who is believed to be 22-year-old Riley Strain stumbling along a street last Friday night after he was reportedly kicked out of the popular Nashville hotspot Luke’s, owned by country music Luke Bryan.
Strain, who stands at 6-foot-7, told his friends he was going back to their hotel, according to his family.
Another surveillance video, taken around 10 p.m., shows Strain in a distinctive two-tone shirt, stopping on the street and turning around.
“You can see the distress that he’s in,” Strain’s father, Ryan, says.
He hasn’t been heard from since.
Police are searching the nearby Cumberland River for the missing University of Missouri senior.
Strain’s parents, Ryan and Michelle Strain, spoke with Inside Edition. Both are now married to others and they and his step-parents are in Nashville helping with the search.
Michelle says her son was in touch with her frequently the night he went missing.
“He was sending me pictures of the different bars that they were going to and at one point he did FaceTime me and he was fine,” Michelle says. “The last text I got was, ‘I love you,’” Michelle says.
Country star Luke Bryan says, “Y’all this is scary. Praying for his safe return.”
According to family, one of Strain’s friends had planned to leave the bar with him but got stuck paying the tab and by the time he left, Strain had vanished.
“We’re gonna find him,” Michelle says.
"The Delta Chi Fraternity is deeply concerned for the safety of Riley Strain, a valued member of our Missouri Chapter, reported missing over the weekend in Nashville, Tennessee. Our thoughts and hopes are with Riley's family and our Missouri Chapter during this challenging time," the fraternity said in a statement.
"TC Restaurant Group, operator and owner of Luke’s 32 Bridge, is continuing to work closely with the Metro Nashville Police Department to provide security camera footage and any other potentially helpful information to aid in the search for Riley Strain. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones for his safe return," the restaurant tells Inside Edition in a statement.
Strain’s disappearance has been serving as a warning as spring break heats up.
