Newly Released Video Shows Riley Strain Speak To Police On The Night He Vanished

As the search continues for 22-year-old Riley Strain, newly released video footage shows the missing student speaking to law enforcement on the night he disappeared.

On March 8, after he was reportedly kicked out of Luke Bryan's bar in Nashville, Tennessee, Riley never returned to his hotel room, leaving his friends worried and concerned.

Days have passed, and Riley is still missing. As police investigate the case, new footage shows the student speaking to law enforcement on the night he vanished.

As The Blast previously reported, the 22-year-old student was last seen by his friends on Friday, March 8 -- over one week ago. They told Riley's parents that he was kicked out of the country music singer‘s restaurant and bar, 32 Bridge Food + Drink.

According to Riley's stepfather, Chris Whiteid, who spoke to WSMV of Nashville, Riley and his friends FaceTimed his mom around 8 p.m. from inside a different bar, who all gave her “a hard time because she was already in bed.”

Whiteid claims Riley had been cut off by the bartender at Luke Bryan’s bar, 32 Bridge Food + Drink, as he was deemed over-served, but the establishment has since said otherwise. 

According to ABC, newly released video footage shows the missing college student briefly talking to a police officer on the night he vanished in Nashville, Tennessee.

Officer Reginald Young reportedly came across Riley when he was responding to a car burglary on the night of March 8, according to Nashville police.

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) released bodycam video from the officer, which shows the missing student walking alone, wearing jeans and what looks to be brown cowboy boots -- the same attire he wore in other surveillance footage. He was walking along, what looked to be a river.

Officer Reginald Young is heard asking Riley “how are you doing, sir?” to which the 22-year-old replies, “I’m good, how are you?” and walks out of frame. Officer Young then says “good."

The video was taken on Gay Street around 9:50 p.m. -- the same street where his bank card was found over the weekend.

The new footage was recorded just minutes after previously released surveillance video from Downtown Smoke & Vape Shop on Church Street caught the student stumbling and falling in a parking lot at 3rd Avenue and Church Street around 9:45 p.m.

At 9:47 p.m., surveillance footage showed Riley crossing 1st Avenue North to Gay Street.

Earlier today, The Blast reported that Riley's credit card was found near the riverbank between Gay St. and the Cumberland River. It is unclear which street this video was captured on. According to NBC affiliate WSMV-TV, two women, Anna Clemdening and Brandy Baenen, were the ones who discovered the credit card as they were going through trash along the riverbank.

“There is so much trash down there it’s so much to sift through and there’s so many pieces of clothing, shoes, bottles, cans, everything. I don’t really know how we found it," Clemdening told the outlet, "I would love to say just dumb luck divine intervention - it was just sitting there,” Clendening said.

The two women said they went out to search for any clues they could find regarding Riley's disappearance. “I just couldn’t sit at home and not think about Riley and his family. so I had to come out,” Baenen said.

Riley's family has since confirmed that the card does belong to the missing student.

“Something needed to be found. We found something - I don’t know if that’s something enough,” Baenen told the outlet.

Riley's phone was last pinged near James Robertson Parkway and Gay Street between 9:55 p.m. and 10 p.m., however, police say the ping covered about a two-mile radius, and it didn't help give them a direction or any more details about his disappearance.

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) has previously stated its Urban Search and Rescue team has been searching the area of Riley's last known location near the Cumberland River.

The investigation remains ongoing. Riley is described as 6-feet, 5-inches tall, with a slender build, blonde hair, and blue eyes, according to his family.

If you see Strain or have any information about where he may be, call the MNPD at 615-862-8600.