As the search for missing college student Riley Strain continues, the United Cajun Navy, a nonprofit organization that arranges rescue teams, has joined the effort.
Strain, a 22-year-old University of Missouri student, had been on a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, with his fraternity brothers when he disappeared on March 8. Surveillance footage shows him stumbling and struggling to walk in a straight line after he became separated from his friends when he was kicked out of country music star Luke Bryan’s bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge. Strain has not been seen since.
Following the discovery of Strain’s bank card on an embankment between Gay Street and the Cumberland River on Sunday, the search efforts for Strain have led the Metro Nashville Police Department to search the surrounding land and river where drones, helicopters and boats have been deployed but have yet to find anything.
On Wednesday, the United Cajun Navy began searching by deploying boats after Strain’s family reached out at the end of last week seeking help.
Metro Police Department/Metro Police Department
Brian Trascher, vice president of United Cajun Navy, told Newsweek via phone on Wednesday that the first boat in the water was deployed over the weekend and more volunteers were brought in Tuesday.
“We just deployed a boat with a side scanner w sonar technology…we also have a hover craft…we are trying to find local partners to find drone and thermal scanners to add to the search,” Trascher said.
Lieutenant Commander David Flagg said the search efforts will include side-scanning radar and specialized lighting equipment that will help volunteers when it gets dark.
“We’ve got two watercraft coming into the city today, we have a hovercraft that came in yesterday afternoon, gentleman from North Alabama, volunteered to bring his craft here,” Flagg told News Nation of the group’s plans. “That’ll be going out on the water this morning at some point. And we also have an airboat coming in from South Carolina that is equipped with side-scanning radar and some specialized lighting and things of that nature there.”
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, News Nation correspondent Evan Lambert shared a video of the United Cajun Navy’s search efforts, noting that the team will also use sonar.
“Just got on board with the United Cajun Navy aiding in the search of the Cumberland River for Riley Strain. Right now they’re using airboat for visual search, but plan on using lights and sonar when it gets dark,” Lambert wrote.
The organization is coordinating with law enforcement to make sure search efforts by volunteers don’t compromise the official investigation.
The Metro Nashville Police Department said Strain left the bar at about 9:40 p.m. on March 8 after being asked to leave. In a statement, the TC Restaurant Group, which owns and operates the bar, said its security team “made a decision based on our conduct standards to escort him from the venue through our Broadway exit at the front of our building.”
Newsweek has reached out to the Metro Nashville Police Department via email for comment.
Strain’s disappearance has sparked concerns about whether he was overserved at Luke’s 32 Bridge, and the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission said it is investigating, ABC News reported.
The TC Restaurant Group said it served Strain only one alcoholic beverage and two waters before asking him to leave. The group did not provide any further details about Strain’s conduct.
Strain is described as 6-foot-5 with a thin build, blue eyes and light brown hair. Anyone with information is asked to call the Metro Nashville Police Department at 615-862-8600.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.