NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Riley Strain, the University of Missouri student found dead two weeks after he vanished during a trip to Nashville, had a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit, according to an autopsy report released Tuesday.
Strain’s blood alcohol level was .228, WKRN reported, citing an autopsy from Tennessee’s Chief Medical Examiner. He also had Delta 9 — a legal form of THC available in Tennessee — in his system, according to WTVF. The autopsy concluded that the 22-year-old died of drowning and intoxication, and that his death was accidental, WSMV reported.
A crew working on the Cumberland River in West Nashville found Strain’s body on March 22, police said. At the time, Police Chief John Drake noted that there were “no signs of foul play.” It was believed that he might have fallen into the river while intoxicated following a night out in Nashville on March 8.
Strain was visiting the city for a fraternity trip. Before his disappearance, he was kicked out of a bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge, for being intoxicated. TC Restaurant Group, which owns and operates the bar, said in a statement that he was served one alcoholic drink and two waters before he was escorted out.
Video surveillance footage showed him sometimes stumbling around downtown before he vanished.
His disappearance prompted widespread speculation, fueled in part by the discovery by two TikTokers of his bank card near the Cumberland River. Police fielded hundreds of tips.
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