What We Know About the Riley Strain Mystery So Far

At 9:35pm on March 8th 2024, Riley Strain was escorted out of Luke Bryan's 32 Bridge on Broadway in Nashville. At 9:53pm, his phone stopped transmitting data entirely, as if it had been turned off. The police are calling it an accidental drowning, and we understand why. However, there are a few things about this case that just feel...off; and if we're right about that, Nashville could be in serious trouble. Welcome back to The Lore Lodge...

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0:00:00 - Cold Open
0:00:20 - Introduction
0:06:06 - The Night Riley Disappeared
0:15:59 - The Search
0:20:00 - The Footage
0:24:17 - Updates and Discoveries
0:36:02 - The Recovery
0:47:53 - The Smiley Face Similarities

[TheLoreLodge]

While Aidan Mattis was researching, he was only able to find videos which froze at the point where Riley falls. During the editing process, Aidan Thornbury found a clip which did not freeze, but assumed Aidan Mattis was describing the slow frame rate and a couple of small visual glitches as a “freeze” and so included the unfrozen clip. It was a communication error.

[ethanhawksley]

“Usually well-educated males in a college town”
Oh no
“Usually popular and good looking”
Oh thank God, I’m safe

[nian]

Another thing you're missing: Riley was apparently staying at the Tempo Hilton hotel. There is a business called Your Tempo in the direction Riley was walking. One theory is that Riley did a phone search for "Tempo", and the map showed him the wrong Tempo.

[melanchholly]

it was just released that his last text to his mom said that his rum and coke tasted weird and that it tasted like bbq??? this case is so incredibly sad on so many levels

[MaggieMay]

I’m a neuropsychologist, and I have to say that kid clearly sustained a head injury when he fell. It’s entirely probable that if he was drunk he didn’t feel the full impact at the moment but that he became more confused and impaired as time went on, eventually leading to an accidental drowning. Closed head injuries (without external bleeding) can be very serious, and the effects don’t always show up immediately, even in people who aren’t intoxicated. It’s completely possible to get up and walk away from a head injury then die later from internal bleeding or to become completely disoriented, which can indirectly lead to accidental death. See Natasha Richardson’s death as an example.

[blankistblankophobe]

We're talking about the same Nashville PD that is still withholding the Covenant school manifesto, so i wouldn't hold my breath.

[MatthewGill-nvtb]

That footage didnt freeze mid stride.... he was laid out.... on the ground. You can clearly see his leg.... him "bending down to get something" is him getting back up

[deathproof]

Riley was running and lost his footing and fell. He didn't squat down to pick something up

[drivethrupoet]

I think everyone is blazing past the obvious question: how did he get so "drunk" so quickly with one drink charged to his card? Doesn't matter what the bar management says, anyone in there could easily drug him and then pretend to be bouncers that "kick him out" and then stop his friends from leaving. If there was a live band playing with a crowd, you could get away with all of that. And these were young guys without enough experience to recognize a situation that's abnormal.

[Erzas_Art_Atelier]

A friend of mine once stopped a drunk college kid from walking out of town and into a cornfield. It was below freezing and he was miles away from his dorm. My friend got him home but if he hadn't stopped to check on him that kid would have froze to death.

[Envirolaw]

Also he didn’t mention that the family has already requested a second autopsy. This implies they are not convinced it’s an accident either.

[MrsDGilbert]

Went to Nashville and saw a young lady change after one drink. It definitely looked like she was drugged. The plus was she had a group of friends who immediately reported it and left.

[supergirlbc]

The other thing that stood out to me that I haven’t seen mentioned in the comments is: at the last bar he ordered 2 waters. To me, that sounds like he acknowledged that he was reaching his limit as far as drinking and needed to start winding down/sobering up. That would mean that he should absolutely not be that drunk and stumbling around immediately following. To me, that makes it seem like he was roofied bc
that does kick in very quickly and makes someone black out “drunk” within minutes.

Another thing: his watch is clearly an Apple Watch. My question is do the police have a way to check the data on the watch and see when there was no longer a heartbeat and where his location was at that time? Because Apple Watch keeps track of your heartbeat every few minutes at least, and if he has a GPS model then it also keeps track of his location to help enhance the fitness tracker

[johnnyrules]

Im a Nashville native, I've walked down the very street he was last seen on drunk myself many a time. I don't see any scenario where he accidently falls into the river. Not there. You'd have to climb over a barricade to do so, and before climbing you'd clearly see theres nothing for you on the other side except a steep drop to the river bank. Its just odd

[katiegrogan]

I am a pathologist and have performed many autopsies- including on drowning victims. We do not expect to find "water in the lungs" in victims who have drowned. Instead, the lungs often have significant congestion, which is detected when the organs are weighed. Congested lungs weigh more than healthy, well- aerated lungs. Considering that he was likely in the water for a week, I would expect that his body was quite edematous and that most of the organs were congested. Regardless, lungs are generally not full of water in drowning cases.
I have recently been to Nashville and there is a ton of construction in the Convention Center district. He was clearly impaired as seen in the CCTV footage and he could have easily slipped and ended up in the water. It is very common for victims who drown in a MOVING body of water to lose clothing and shoes. Additionally, it's not really fair to discuss how long it takes for a body to surface in water of varying temperatures. Just because he was found 8 miles away and 2 weeks later doesn't mean that his body had not surfaced. It just means that his body wasn't seen.

[rebeccamd]

As someone who has been slipped GBH while drinking, I can assure you, you go in and out of stupors like that. Hard to believe he only had alcohol in his system. Wonder what they tested for?

[corycarlson]

I have watched Jim Smith and William Ramsey call 20 plus of these cases. Man goes missing, college aged, healthy, low BMI, go missing, later to be found in water. William has had many episodes talking about different cults whose membership is dependent on a culling where you have to kill someone and not get caught. One of the cults gives advice that making your victim look like a drowning is the best way they've found so far. Heck William and Jim called Riley strain to the day when he would be found. Pretty interesting they are able to do it time after time after time. Of course William has been researching the occult for 10 years so he knows what to look for and how these cults communicate and why certain things are done. I think a ton of people are going to be embarrassed when this finally breaks. I think this latest rash of drownings is really starting to wake people up.

[kaci]

I live in Nashville and broadway is literally known for how often people end up roofied. I’m convinced he was drugged and confused and he could’ve fallen into the river in that state.

[valiantthorr]

Regardless of the brief freeze, it is very clear that he tripped and hit his head on that post or aign and fell to the ground. Most likely he recieved a concussion which would explain his odd behavior later. The freeze, to my eye, does not obscure and details outside of those between the moment he trips and the moments right before his head makes contact with the sign/post.

It's absolutely right to have grace for Riley's friends who didn't leave the bar with them. The person who took his life is 100% responsible.

However, as a female college student in 2010 I would have NEVER let a friend leave a bar alone after drinking. I had had enough negative experiences with people my age but twice my size to know better. It's true that "we should all do better". I just want to point out that, due to our individual and collective experiences, many of those who must do better are young men. They need community and protection too. Look out for your bros!!

Ps. This is vid is very well done!!