Riley Strain's cause of death revealed as autopsy report is published
Riley Strain's cause of death has been revealed following publication of his autopsy report.
The University of Missouri student vanished during a bar crawl with his friends in Nashville on March 8. He was found dead in a river two weeks, later after a huge manhunt.
Now it has emerged he died from alcohol poisoning and drowning, NewsChannel Nashville reports.
The 22-year-old's blood alcohol level was .228, three times the legal limit.
His system also had traces of Delta 9, a form of THC which is legal and readily available in Tennessee. The report deemed his death accidental.
A two week search for Strain ended when workers found his body in the Cumberland River eight miles away from where he vanished
Police had previously ruled out foul play, but his parents had been fighting for answers ever since he disappeared.
The bar where he was kicked out of on the night of his death stated it had only sold Strain one alcoholic drink before asking him to leave.
The Delta Chi member was at the bar with his frat brothers on a trip for their annual spring formal when he was kicked out just after 9:30 p.m.
Strain had told his friends that he would meet them back at their hotel, but was nowhere to be seen when the group returned from their night out.
His friends tried contacting him, but received no response and they reported Strain as missing as they failed to locate him via his Snapchat location.
The mystery of his disappearance only heightened after chilling footage emerged of Strain stumbling through the city hours before his death.
Despite this, no camera captured his fall or put him in the vicinity of the Cumberland River where his body was found.
The student had reportedly FaceTimed his mom Michelle Whiteid that evening, and she said nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Riley Strain falls to the ground before stumbling off after being thrown out of Nashville bar
Michelle Strain Whiteid, Riley Strain's heartbroken mother broke her silence in a press conference just hours after her 22-year-old son was found dead in a river eight miles from where he vanished in Nashville
His parents previously said cops butchered the investigation into his disappearance, as more clues seemed to have come from the public than officers.
The parents' criticism of the cops comes after TikTokers found a crucial piece of evidence that investigators failed to discover over a week after Strain went missing.
Anna Clemdening and Brandy Baenen, had been rummaging through trash along the riverbank when they located Strain's bank card.
News of the autopsy report comes just days after his heartbroken parents bravely walked onto stage at the University of Missouri and accepted Strain's diploma from the Mizzou College of Arts and Science.
His mother wept and held his diploma up to the sky as students stood and cheered in a standing ovation in his honor.
Despite the family previously criticizing the police, Gilbert thanked the Metro Nashville Police Department for their efforts, as well as the volunteer United Cajun Navy.
'It's just unbelievable what they've done for us,' Gilbert said.
Stepfather Chris thanked the entire Nashville community for their help in trying to find Riley.
'To the people of Nashville, I can't thank you enough for the support, the love, the encouragement that you've shown myself and my wife,' Chris said.
'It's been an emotional rollercoaster. We're quite thankful for everything that you've done for our family. The grace that you've given us, it means a lot, more than you'll ever know.'
