Luke Bryan's Bar Breaks Silence On Missing Student Who Was 'Overserved'

Luke Bryan’s bar in Nashville, Tennessee is breaking its silence on the Riley Strain story.

As previously reported, a 22-year-old University of Missouri student went missing after being kicked out of the establishment, and his whereabouts are still unknown one week later.

Riley was in Nashville, Tennessee with a group of friends, but the fun night out soon turned into a missing persons case as the 22-year-old never returned to their hotel. He was last seen leaving country music singer Luke Bryan's bar and restaurant.

“At approximately 9:45 p.m., he was asked to leave Luke Bryan’s bar,” Riley’s stepfather, Chris Whiteid, told WSMV of Nashville. “They got separated. The boys called him, and he said, ‘I’m walking back to my hotel.’ They didn’t think anything about it.”

The University of Missouri student had been cut off by the bartender at Luke Bryan’s bar, 32 Bridge Food + Drink, as he was deemed over-served, according to Strain’s stepfather.

Ryan Gilbert, Riley's dad, told FOX17 something similar, claiming "He was put out of the bar by himself, and there was a time that went by that his friend wasn’t able to get out. We believe they were taking care of the bar tab or whatnot. By the time they got outside, he just wasn’t there any longer."

Now, the establishment is breaking its silence on the mystery.

A rep for the TC Restaurant Group and Luke's 32 Bridge denied over-serving the student and claims the rumors are just that -- rumors.

They told TMZ "they quickly provided cops with any and all pertinent information in helping track Riley's whereabouts when he first disappeared last Friday -- including handing over all the surveillance footage they had."

Adding, that the bar provided any receipts, transaction records, and time stamps to authorities to back their claims of exactly what Riley drank while in the bar. Furthermore, they claim he only purchased one alcoholic drink on his own, and that's all he was served as well.

Luke's 32 Bridge says Riley was also given two glasses of water while he was inside the bar/restaurant.

The establishment did confirm Riley was asked to leave the bar, which lines up with previous reports, claiming their its security team "made the decision" that "Riley needed to go" around 9:30 p.m. The decision came "based on their conduct standards."

Riley was escorted to the front of the venue, where the rep says he was accompanied by one person in his party, contradicting with what Riley's family has told news outlets.

Another piece of the story doesn't add up, as the establishment claims the guy who came downstairs with Riley did not exit with him, but instead, he returned upstairs without him. This bit of information doesn't align with what Riley's family has said as his father suggests that Riley's friends had been blocked from leaving due to an unpaid bill.

Strain is described as 6-foot-7 “with a thin build, blue eyes, and light brown hair,” according to authorities. At this time, no one matching Riley’s description has been located at a morgue. Additionally, no one was picked up by an ambulance or taken to an emergency room.

“They should be able to quickly find him. I mean, at six (foot) seven (inches), he kind of stands out in the crowd.” Riley’s dad, Ryan Gilbert, said of his son. “Given the timeframe that we’ve been able to narrow down to, they should be able to start finding his digital footprint based on cameras.”

According to NBC, security footage shows Strain looked to be heading back to the hotel, but seemingly took a wrong turn. It is unclear where the security footage is from.

Strain is a senior business student at Mizzou. Anyone with information is asked to call MU Police, 573-882-7201, who is working with law enforcement in Nashville.