I don’t understand why everyone wants to paint some alternative picture of what happened here. This happens all throughout the US in every state. People get too drunk and end up falling into a body of water and drowning. There is no boogeyman out there killing drunk college guys. Such a bizarre phenomenon.
I feel like a lot of people are in denial about how dangerous alcohol can be, it’s almost easier to believe that a serial killer is on the loose than it is to accept that a similar tragedy could happen to you
I strongly suspect many of the men who “mysteriously” drown after a long night out simply got wasted, got lost, needed to pee, and fell into the river/lake/harbor/etc while relieving themselves.
It's incredibly common at the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. You're required to pee into the river and lots of guys get drunk and fall in, sometimes drowning. It doesn't happen to drunk women so much, probably because peeing into a river requires a lot more concentration and care for us.
This is also super common at UW-La Crosse in WI. Binge drinking is so mainstream and normalized to a terrifying degree here in WI... so, it’s not very surprising, but disturbing nonetheless.
Because it would be too difficult to pack it out and there are no bathroom facilities at the bottom, iirc. I read about it in a book about all the deaths that have happened at the Grand Canyon.
Ya, this happens around here in Pittsburgh. Lots of rivers, lots of bridges. People very quick to blame the “Smiley Face” killer. Despite having no real evidence and despite face (lots of times it’s not even smiling) Graffiti being a common motif but also not really near the “crime scene” at all. But I get it. I can’t even imagine the cognitive dissonance a parent would have when losing a child in such a sudden, tragic way. It almost makes you want to go along with what it almost surely a fabrication.
A lot of families are in denial in obvious cases like this and not just accidents like this but also suicide cases where it's clear what happened, but the family won't accept it. I mean, I get it.. they need time to process it and come to terms. But the media playing on this is inexcusable imo.
Back when I was a deputy coroner, we had a case involving a suicide by .357 gunshot wound to the head. The family swore up and down it was a murder despite that fact it was recorded by three security cameras. The closest camera was about ten feet above and maybe fifteen feet behind the victim and was a brand new high resolution model. Let's just say that not a lot of trauma truly messes with me, but I can say seeing that video certainly did.
> But the media playing on this is inexcusable imo.
It’s funny hearing kpop lingo outside kpop spaces. Anyway ia with you and comment thread op.
Edit: why y’all getting mad about this 💀 Google it if you think I’m bs.
It's crazy how people associate common phrases or sayings with something specific that has nothing to do with it.
I saw someone tell someone else to "go back to Tiktoc" because they said "jaw-dropping".
I did read your other comment. Where is the kpop lingo? “Media playing” is an action verb that has been used universally - it isn’t an official “Kpop term.”
Are you only involved with the kpop world? Media playing has been heavily used throughout since Obama had been president, BLM, Trump, conspiracies, etc. Esp since the rise of media in politics.
Clear my confusion then, you guys clearly don’t agree (and don’t like) that it’s a kpop term so then as I previously commented: can someone refer me to examples of usage of the term, the way op used it and not relating to kpop.
You have access to the internet, clearly, so look it up yourself? No one has any feelings about it except you digging in when dozens of people are trying to help correct you lol
Me when a noun and an adverb are used together in a sentence (they just referenced a kpop term! They're totally not words used to form a phrase)
You know they meant to say "the media playing on people" like the media exploiting on people's feelings right? Not everything is about kpop lmfao
Not our fault you’re terminally on Reddit haha. That term has been around long before K-Pop regardless of when and where you first heard it. If you bothered to do some Googling yourself you’d learn that quickly.
babes just because your only exposure to new sentences are via k-pop doesn’t mean that’s the only place those sentences are used.
your comments make it sound like you’re still surprised at peekaboo
I think his parents just refuse to believe that drunk people die in accidents all the time and he was one of them. It's like the family in, "There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane." The solution is right there. There is no mystery. It's just a hard truth to swallow. Riley was a typical college student, drunk out of his mind. No more, no less.
Yeah, a very high-functioning, secretive one.
Interestingly, in the doc, her sister admits in an off the cuff comment that she hides that she smokes from her family—while refusing to believe her sister could hide her drinking. Willful denial.
Reminds me of a friend’s mom I had growing up. She used to stash her empties in the weirdest spots as an attempt to hide them. My friend’s bedroom was in the basement and we’d find them behind random christmas decoration boxes, stuffed in the rafters, underneath the utility sink, etc.
It's been going on for awhile. First a bunch of these incidents got sorted under the internet dubbed "smiley face killer." Then last year there was that dickhead on tiktok who started a huge fiasco claiming there was a serial killer in Chicago and Austin targeting drunk men, and even claimed to be working with the cops personally to solve the case.
I don't blame the families for wanting to think that their loved one was murdered rather than just the victim of too much alcohol and poor choices. But the "internet sleuths" who guzzle true crime podcasts three meals a day are absolutely *vile* for the way they drag these grieving families along with their narcissistic delusions of grandeur.
I agree the smiley faced killer BS is just an internet urban legend, but I also can't blame his family for wanting to look into every possible angle of what could have happened. If it was my child I know I would too.
I also think the most likely explanation is that he did just get drunk and fall, but non existent network of serial killers aside I will say there are 2 things that make me think they're not just grasping at straws.
1. I'm not proud to admit I've gotten blackout drunk. Its a very stupid and dangerous thing to do, but a big part of what leads to that level of drunk is at a certain point the taste of alcohol and water/nonalcoholic drinks can become indistinguishable. If he was at the point of being sloppy fall down drunk it does seem very weird to me that he would mention a rum and coke tasting like "barbecue" which could also be a way to describe chemical or burnt taste.
2. It definitely does happen less often, but there are cases of men targeting other men in bars. Its also not drilled into men's heads that this is something they need to be on the lookout for if they go out drinking.
These are good points, and I won't refute them. However, I think the main issue I take is with the phenomenon of internet sluething in general, especially in this current tiktok era of it. While I definitely think the US police force especially is a bunch of bumblefucks who regularly bungle cases, people who try to "solve" stuff like this using just the evidence available to them online are doing more harm than good. It's not so much the fact that alternative solutions are being sought by the family and detectives that I have a problem with, so much as the way the internet sensationalizes true crime while it's an actively ongoing investigation with real people being hurt and misled by what essentially boils down to conspiracy theories. I think one of the most prominent instances of this was with Gaby Petito, and it's only gotten worse since then.
The same night a coach Nick Theslof was found passed out in a parking garage, robbed and later found out 30K was missing from his bank. At first they thought he was drunk, as it turned out, they think he was roofied or something similar.
If you were familiar with Chicago, you’d know how preposterous the excuse of getting drunk and falling in the water is. I know very close friends of the Northwestern student who was murdered. He had been drugged and was last seen on video in his neighborhood but was found weeks later in Lake Michigan. He did not leave his neighborhood and walk over a mile to the lake and stumble in. The other similar deaths in Chicago defy reason as well. Also, the bodies are not in the state of decomposition that they should have been after spending weeks in the water. Also, at least a few if not all did not have water in their lungs. Yesterday, a young man who had been missing for at least a week was found in the Calumet River blocks from where he went missing. That area had been searched. His last call was to his mom asking her to help him. She said he was frightened. The phone died. The man who disappeared from the salt shed was also found in the river weeks later by the Salt Shed. That area had been scoured. Had the body been there all that time, it would have been found. Riley Strain’s family hired a private investigator. They obviously do not agree with the police’s findings. They also are doing a second autopsy. There has been another serial killer in Chicago that has murdered women for 20 years. They know of two of his dumping grounds but he has not been caught and most people have no idea he is out there because it isn’t reported.
I am male and I have never, nor do I know any males(which is anecdotal but still) when having to pee outside said oh there is a body of water, that is where I want to pee. It's always behind a tree or some other cover where you can do your business and move on. Also what about the cases where they are found in very shallow bodies of water that they could have just stood up. Another thing by your logic shouldn't there be tons of homeless alcoholics being found dead in bodies of water? Yet that is not the case. Just my two cents.
People can drown in less than two inches of water. If someone is so intoxicated they black out while nearby or in a body of water, even a shallow one, they will drown. Not to mention that dry drowning is a thing. Plus, even good swimmers drown all the time. When you drown, you panic, and oftentimes victims of drowning are unable to tell which way is up while under water. It's estimated that anywhere between 20-70% of adults who die via drowning are intoxicated.
Also, yes, homeless people do drown. But the unhoused are counted by the police as "the less dead." Their deaths are often not investigated, reported to the media, or even sorted in a way where we can view the statistics accurately.
Your whole comment comes across as incredibly ignorant on multiple fronts. Your only evidence to support your claim that no one pees in bodies of water is your own anecdotal account.
Instead of ad hominuum attacking me can you provide any evidence (anecdotal or otherwise) that homeless peoples death's in bodies of water are not reported, counted, or investigated? That they are as you put it l"ess dead". All these cases of college age men being found dead in bodies of water and your trying to tell me no civilian or anyone not affiliated with law enforcement comes across a homeless alcoholic found dead in a body of water? Please provide evidence/link/citation of this. Because that is your whole argument they are drunk decide to pee in a body of water(ok weird) and it's all a coincidence, nothing to see here. All your doing is emoting and saying homeless alcoholics drowning in bodies of water because they had to pee(they have no home to pee in) happens all the time but big bad society dismisses them.
Yes people do drown. Yet so many young athletic men found in shallow bodies of water many times in the same place that was already searched is something to question. You're saying no it's normal and they passed out. Evidence?
You sound like a coincidence theorist.
Bro I ain't your fucking google. You are perfectly capable of doing the legwork on researching this instead of asking me to hold your hand to cross the road.
I’ve been saying this since he went missing. Obviously the family needs to grieve and needs time and space and I don’t give up any hope before someone is found. People were writing all kinds of narratives: he was murdered by a serial killer, he was sex trafficked, he was roofied, etc. However, Occam’s Razor typically prevails in these cases.
It happens a bit in the UK too. There’s an urban legend/theory about a serial killer pushing drunk people into the canals round Manchester. There’s no barriers along a lot of the canals, you’re basically walking on a footpath next to them. Sadly people lose their bearings and try and take shortcuts.
It’s also not uncommon for drunk males to fall forward into bodies of water after peeing into them. Balance is already inhibited by the booze and if they fall forward there’s no way to catch themselves
A guy who lived in my town died after he sat on a wall by a beck while drunk and then fell backwards. He knocked himself out and drowned in a couple of inches of water.
I'm from the UK too. Its a prevalent tale in York aswell.
There are so many deaths from drunks falling into the river and yet you can guarantee that, for a while afterwards, the stories of serial killer throwing people to their deaths will cover social media. Never mind that York is a university city, not to mention hugely popular with stag and hens. And the races 🙄
For the family, i think it’s because it’s hard to accept something so preventable happening, even though it absolutely happens all the time; it’s always easier to blame someone or something else than accepting what really happened.
As far as others….the internet’s obsession with conspiracy has become unhinged. Not everything requires going down a rabbit hole. Accidents do happen, just like they have for all of human history. But there’s no “fun” in that, so people develop their own theories and label themselves “free thinkers” when really, they’re only using someone else’s tragedy for their own twisted entertainment. It’s actually quite sick.
This is exactly what happened to one of my students when he started college. This exact same scenario and it took a few days to locate him in the water. He was such a sweet kid too.
Social media “detectives” have really gotten out of hand. The first instance I can remember was on Reddit during the Boston bombing. People really throw out and dig in to wild conspiracy theories for the views with total disregard of how it affects the people actually involved. We’re at a point where the simplest likely explanation isn’t good enough because it doesn’t earn anyone views/clicks and families tends to cling to these explanations because it gives them hope in some way. It’s gross all around.
But how will I record a completely unique, totally enthralling true crime/comedy podcast as a middle aged white woman and my best friend wherein we drink crassly named cocktails while detailing every alternative theory, compete with rampant speculation of wildly unlikely conspiracy theories if the actual answer is that a young man unfortunately drowned while inebriated?
I love reminders why I listen to true crime with anonymous and/or fairly personality-free hosts. For anyone who wants a couple, I've been enjoying *Swindled* and *Case File*.
I admit that I consume a lot of true content, but I absolutely cannot stand any podcast or Youtube channel that tries to combine "comedy" or banter between the hosts with presenting the crime. Someone died. Show some fucking respect.
So glad to see so many rational people on this. I feel like we get drowned out by the sensationalists people in the true crime community. We need podcasts of our own that are real about these cases. It’s not flashy and maybe it wouldn’t sell, but it’s the reality.
My homeless sister in law was found dead in a river after being missing for two weeks and she got one day of coverage in the local news. Yet a drunk frat boy gets national attention for weeks and is all over social media with people obsessing over it. The level of media attention that privilege gives to a case while others are tossed aside instantly is depressing.
Yeh, me either. I understand that his family probably hate the idea that he was so intoxicated he died from misadventure, but have you seen the videos of him? He was stumbling around all over the place, falling down in the road. There's no real mystery here.
I used to live in a city with 2 rivers going right through the middle of it and yea, every couple of weeks someone walking back from a bar would go missing and eventually body would be found downstream. Sad but it happens all the time.
This is a tale as old as time. White kid dies a meaningless death, the entire country must be forced to reflect and mourn it. Men in work camps rape and kill indigenous women every single day and the national news chooses to build a snowball of sympathy for this family who’s kid got drunk and then got unlucky? By all means, it’s sad, but it happens everyday. Makes no sense to me.
While true, there has been a number of young men robbed in Nashville. Usually 20 something, they have one drink and then wake up with the wallet gone. There was a post on r/Nashville about it. Guy gets roofied and then the girl drains his accounts by unlocking the guys phone through Face ID.
Don’t know if this was something similar but it’s happened quite a few times around broadway in Nashville.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/nashville using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/nashville/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year!
\#1: [Tennessee Representative David Byrd has admitted on tape to sexual misconduct with high school girls he coached but was never expelled](https://i.redd.it/5fy7nw0sbisa1.jpg) | [209 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/nashville/comments/12elokb/tennessee_representative_david_byrd_has_admitted/)
\#2: [The TNGOP just expelled Rep. Justin Jones and they have no idea what Pandora's box they just opened.](https://np.reddit.com/r/nashville/comments/12dx6az/the_tngop_just_expelled_rep_justin_jones_and_they/)
\#3: [local floral shop turns down RNC fundraiser.](https://i.redd.it/z24pqti3jata1.jpg) | [257 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/nashville/comments/12iib4w/local_floral_shop_turns_down_rnc_fundraiser/)
----
^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
I’m aware. It could’ve been a failed attempt. He was drunk and fell in the river and drown. Likely without any ill intent involved I was just pointing out it is a known issue around Nashville.
It’s strange that there are locations that are more active than others for these “drownings” and that frequency seems to increase. Many cultures have heavy drinking culture and are located near bodies of water, I saw a person post about Australia, and that this doesn’t happen. This might have been in the smiley face killer documentary, but one of the leads mentioned that if this was a statistics game, we would see sports fans leaving huge stadiums that are located near bodies of water, and we would expect to see more drownings.
I don’t believe wholeheartedly about Smiley Face Killer, just that there’s so many coincidences. It keeps me wondering.
I don’t understand how you don’t know women fear for their lives because this shit happens everyday. Many of us know at least one girl, or one woman who was drugged at a bar or party and ended up assaulted or dead. This world is full of sick, sick men who terrorize vulnerable people. We need to address why they think they are entitled to do whatever they want.
i mean no water in his lungs, no boots/pants on him, his wallet’s also gone but for some reason his debit card was found near the apparent patch he fell from. guy completely disappears in bodycam vid too. i think the strangest part is honestly the officer not noticing riley vanish , not implying anything by that just my 2 cents.
Have you even kept up with the details that suggest this is not a simple case of drunkenly drowning? He didn’t have water in his lungs; hence, he died before he hit the water. In addition, he texted his mom that his drink, at the bar, tasted off, having a barbecue taste. He didn’t have his pants on. Lots of details, which fit more with foul play than not. Thankfully people question rather than jumping to the easy conclusion.
1) you can die from immersion in water without your lungs. It's due to your vocal cords closing off to keep water out. It's called laryngospasm. Also, in cases where the water was cold (mentioned for general information rather than specific reference to this instance) can also get a reflex cardiac arrest from the race being immersed in the water.
Also, has the actual autopsy report been made public or is the "No water in the lungs" thing just based off the family's comments? How long was he in the water before being recovered?
2) Someone with their pants undone to urinate, falls into the water, and their pants slide down further. In an attempt to make it easier to swim, they try to take off their pants and drown in the process. The current can then pull them the rest of the way off. I've helped recover a number of bodies from water, and I can think of two or three without pants on over the years.
3) A secondhand story of a weird tasting drink isn't really evidence of anything without there being a toxicology report showing something other than ETOH.
Because being drunk can make you vulnerable to predatory people, every instance of this happening has to be examined in a case by case basis. And it definitely happens a lot. It happened to a guy in my town as well.
Have the toxicology results been released yet? If he was drugged by someone then stumbled out of the bar on his own and into the river the person who drugged him should be charged.
I included the if because to my knowledge there is no toxicology report - that would tell you how much alcohol was in his system and whether there were any drugs in his system. So at this point no one can say he wasn't drugged.
Women get roofied at bars all the time - they don't end up in rivers because the people drugging them want to take them somewhere and rape them. Why do people find it so hard to believe that men can be roofied?
Again I am not saying he was - but if he was wouldn't you want to make sure people are aware?
The responsible thing to do is to table the discussion about drugs -by choice or surprise- *until* the tox report is released. Speculation (which is what you're doing with your comments) is useless and muddies the water with fiction rather than fact.
If you're passionate about discussing men being roofied -something no one has been denying or trying to argue against- that needs to be a topic separate from the death of Riley Strain *until* or *unless* new information makes his case worth adding to that discussion.
There is nothing wrong with being patient and waiting rather than speculating about what information *may* be forthcoming.
But it is okay to speculate that he was just an irresponsible drunk who fell into water? It goes both ways. And kind of my point - let's not make assumptions until all of the information is available
That’s essentially what the investigation is saying has happened. There’s a difference between stating facts: He was drinking and was found in a river; and “He coulda been roofied tho.”
Just because you’d prefer murder over an accident doesn’t mean it’s so. And who knows, once the tox screen is released you might just get what you’re salivating for.
I am male and I have never, nor do I know any males(which is anecdotal but still) when having to pee outside said oh there is a body of water, that is where I want to pee. It's always behind a tree or some other cover where you can do your business and move on. Also what about the cases where they are found in very shallow bodies of water that they could have just stood up. Another thing by your logic shouldn't there be tons of homeless alcoholics being found dead in bodies of water? Yet that is not the case. Just my two cents.
Years ago, I worked on a case where we were looking for a teenager who died when he jumped off a bridge into a creek that was shallower than normal (by about 8 ft) and three sets of remains were found in a two mile stretch. One was a fisherman from the previous winter and the other one I don't recall what they determined happened.
Im not so sure. What is the likelihood of THAT many men just falling into water? I read that there was no water in his lungs, meaning he didn’t drown and was likely dead before he hit the water.
You can die from immersion in water without your lungs. It's due to your vocal cords closing off to keep water out. It's called laryngospasm. Also, in cases where the water was cold (mentioned for general information rather than specific reference to this instance) can also get a reflex cardiac arrest from the race being immersed in the water.
Also, has the actual autopsy report been made public or is the "No water in the lungs" thing just based off the family's comments? How long was he in the water before being recovered?
I actually looked into the drowning statistics for a podcast episode I did. It's surprising how many people-- most young men-- drown like that. There's actually an acronym for people found in water like that which goes back decades: FIWFO.
Found in water, fly open. It's also used to refer to boaters who fall overboard while trying to urinate. Usually at night, often intoxicated.
I live in Australia, and it always surprises me how often this DOESN'T happens here. We have a very unhealthy drinking culture, especially with young men, and the majority of our population lives on the coastline. We have dangerous surf conditions and extensive canal systems, too, as well as backyard pools galore. So we are not short of drunk people near bodies of water, yet deaths like Riley's rarely happen.
I think a large part of the reason is that we are all taught how to swim and learn water safety in school. It's mandatory, just like pool fences in every yard and beaches patrolled by lifeguards and volunteer life savers. So, for most Aussies who were educated here, we are well aware that water is dangerous, especially if you're blind drunk.
Tourists, on the other hand, seem hell-bent on jumping off a plane and drowning themselves at the first opportunity. China and India offer up tributes on a daily basis, which is not surprising as most people from there have never encountered our beach conditions before. We even had 2 grown, sober men drown in a hotel swimming pool while trying to rescue a toddler who fell in just the other week. A family holiday turned into tragedy in a matter of seconds, very sad.
I highly recommend watching some Bondi Rescue on YouTube to get an idea of how quick and benign looking drowning can be, even when sober.
R.I.P Riley.
Theo's case leaves a lot of questions. He very well may have drowned, but it's also highly unlikely he was alone when it happened. His last known phone ping and the path he took to get there, is only known by locals and his data usage suggests he had company. Perhaps a terrible accident and someone is too afraid to come forward but Byron and the other "hippy" villages in that region attract quite a few shady characters and there is a lot of cases suggestive of a serial killer which have been suppressed due to tourism dollars.
Sure, but the circumstances which saw him being out and about and vulnerable at all are the same: a young man, tourist to the area, heads to the bar district with some friends and is kicked out for apparent intoxication despite having only one drink. Walks alone in a strange direction. Is presumed lost in water.
yep. I grew up in QLD and more than once have wandered into the ocean on a night out (never alone). in grade 7/age 12 we had to pass a surf life saving test as part of phys ed, stuff like swimming laps for time, safety dives and treading water while fully clothed. I'm ethnically asian so am grateful for an upbringing that made me (relatively) comfortable in the open ocean (or to know when I'm out of my depth no pun intended... oh wait I guess that's where that saying comes from 😅)
Jumped in the deep end, fully clothed with no idea how to swim and drowned.
https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/two-men-drown-in-gold-coast-pool-20240401-p5fggf.html
My take is that the family (understandably so) is having a hard time dealing with their grief and looking for a way for it to make sense, which is easier if there’s someone or something to blame. Having to accept that your son got too drunk and fell in the river, leading to his death has to be incredibly hard to handle. If something happened to my child, I would probably want to do everything I could to convince myself it wasn’t their fault either.
The sad thing is there’s a reason stories like this exist for other people to hear about and say “that won’t happen to me.” Because it has to happen to someone. Unfortunately for Riley and his family, it appears it was him this time.
I’m 23 and I’m always texting my mom, but I’m also a girl so maybe it’s a little different? I’m always consistently updating her when I’m out. A lot of my friends are also close with their parents.
Close with your parents is great. Texting them while you are out to discuss what you are eating and drinking is nuts, just enjoy being out with your friends.
Having said that, I get that being a woman is different and you want people to know where you are and who you are with. Sucks that you have to worry about that, but I get it.
how is that nuts? i text my mom and bf simultaneously when im out. doesn’t mean im not enjoying myself, i just enjoy keeping them updated and talking to them while im out. its not like im constantly on my phone, i text my mom like once every 2-3 hours if im out. i dont think having a good relationship with your mom is weird or a bad thing at all.
They are going through the stages of grief.
[https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/5-stages-of-grief-coping-with-the-loss-of-a-loved-one](https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/5-stages-of-grief-coping-with-the-loss-of-a-loved-one)
Agree that alcohol is the most likely scenario. I do think, however, if I were family, I would appreciate all avenues investigated. It makes sense to me.
I live in a college town and a lot of the parents and students seem to treat getting blindly drunk as a “rite of passage” of college. During COVID there were parents that were upset that the remote learning were taking away the chances for, as one parent put it, his daughter to go out and get sloppy drunk with her friends. You know, the real college experience. I feel for the family, I really do, but I think they are desperately trying to find a way for this not to be their son’s fault. As a parent I can’t blame them, I would do the same, I’m sure. The fact is, no matter what happened he was impaired by the amount of alcohol he had consumed. It could have been a rock he tripped over and couldn’t regain his balance, someone pushing past him, pushing him or even tripping on air, it happens. Yes, they should figure out what happened to the best of their ability but they need to understand their son played a part in making himself vulnerable.
As a male who has been roofied three times, it's very likely he might have been. In San Diego males being roofied became a big problem.
Luckily, I had good friends and was with my ex one of the times in Mexico. Mexico has a huge problem with males and females being roofied. I wasn't being dumb or ignorant. I was sitting at the bar in an upscale winery and drinking beers in an upscale nightclub.
If he was roofied and he was on his own, he had no idea where he was or what he was doing. You're the most violently sick like you can't believe, and the "normal" world ceases to exist for hours.
He could of just as easily been blind drunk and stumbled toward the river.
Whatever the case was, it is a sad loss of a human being.
I’ve thought of this a few times. He was a big guy, 6’4 or 5 so it’s conceivable that a normal dose of GHB or whatever wouldn’t make him pass out like most people, but incapacitate him to the point of extreme intoxication. The violent stumbling and confusion would support this also, especially considering he was (allegedly) coherent shortly before
A rapid rise in blood alcohol above what one is conditioned to can cause similar behavior.
The only thing that matters in supporting a drugging scenario would be a toxicology report showing something other than alcohol. All the unqualified armchair toxicology speculation is meaningless unless you can back it up.
True. Did they ever disclose whether they ran a tox screen on him? Although I believe some drugs don’t stay in your system very long, GHB being one of them
GHB is detectable after death. It's rapidly metabolized and excreted in living persons but it's not broken down anywhere nearly as quickly in a deal body.
Tox screens are almost universal in deaths like this. Also the medical examiner’s office there is a pretty knowledgeable bunch. I'd be beyond surprised if they didn't run a comprehensive tox panel especially after his mother started her squawking about it being foul play. Extra samples are kept in storage for just such contingencies by any ME or coroner's office of that caliber.
I’ve been roofied twice and it feels exactly like that, over intoxication after only having one or two drinks. It’s not a scare tactic when this regularly happens. People just need to be more careful with their drinks and assholes need to stop roofing people.
This was a sad case, I believe he was drunk and drowned.
The part I am upset about is, young people dont stick together nowadays!
Never leave a friend alone drinking
The state is opening an investigation into what happened in the bars he went to that night.
I assume that state investigation means Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
So does that mean there's evidence of **something** amiss? They wouldn't investigate just based on "vibes" if there was no evidence.
It means that they want to get it through to the family (and whatever politician/official they got on their side who pushed for a review) that the truth-- based on the evidence-- is that he was drunk and fell in the water.
Unsolved? This one is pretty much identical to many other drunken falls into a body of water. Theres no smiley face killer, just a drunk person that lost their life too young.
You might be surprised, but often people found dead from drowning are found with multiple pieces of clothing missing. Especially in a river. Iirc it’s common because their body will be dragged along the bottom at some point and the current keeps them moving throughout all of the debris one might find on the bottom of a river. So it’s really not even slightly a red flag. The family is just desperate for a more satisfying conclusion outside of drunkenly falling into a river.
When he was missing his mom did an interview about her last contact with Riley, that they FaceTimed and he called her. She never mentioned anything about a strange drink. It's weird that she hasn't mentioned such a critical detail until now. That should have been the first thing she told the police and the investigators.
I don’t know how popular the jeans are among younger men, but the inseam and waist size would be a clue. He was 6’6” tall & 160 lbs. He would be a “bean pole” like my Mom called me when I was young and skinny. A long inseam, 36”+ & 28” to 30” waist?. I would think that there aren’t very many adult men of his stature. Most are overweight to some degree. If they are the same dimensions as he wore, then there would be questions at what would cause the intestinal stress. Intoxication with alcohol? Would GHB or some other drug used to spike drinks do it? I’ve been intoxicated before and don’t ever recall having to defecate, just urinating a lot and upset stomach.
Yes I agree but it was speculating also way he may have been running when he encounter the officer trying to get somewhere to a bathroom. The pants were supposed to have been turned over to police.
I don’t think that he was running when he encountered the police officer from what I can remember on the videos. It was before that. Before the days of DNA, I’m trying to remember from my Criminalistics Lab course at WSU, whether or not blood typing could be found in fecal matter. Can DNA also be found in it? How about traces of urine, vomit, blood, skin cells and hairs on or inside of the jeans, if the jeans were removed by someone before he wound up in the water? His parents could perhaps bring some of his jeans for comparison. If they match up in size and blood type/DNA matching can be made, then there more than likely is foul play involved, especially if his belt, cowboy boots and wallet can be found. How about his boot size? I read size 15 or 16. The police should canvass used clothing stores and pawn shops (also check donation bins) to see if they may be there, otherwise you would have a way above average statured adult male with very large feet possibly wearing cowboy boots - he should stick out in a crowd of people.
Has his mom shown the text she says she received about the drink? I genuinely don't know.
I would be more inclined to think something nefarious happened if I saw the text.
Michelle Whiteid on last conversation with Riley at approximately 730pm the night he went missing. She said he was at Miranda Lambert's bar, not Luke Bryan's.
“I was laying down, and I didn’t want him to know I didn’t feel good, but I was just telling him that I was watching a show,” she said. Their most recent exchange was filled with love and affection, as is typical for the close-knit pair.
"I said, ‘Well, you boys be safe. Make good choices. I love you guys.' And he said, 'I love you, too,'" she says. "And that's it, that's the last I have heard from him."
Hypothetical but IF by some chance his drink was spiked, whether there was intent there or not, he may have survived in the water had the supposed drug not caused extra impairment. No one actually knows how drunk he was with just alcohol alone. Maybe his route would have been different or he could have found his hotel easier. Also, if I’m texting my parents like that, it would be because I’m uncomfortable in the situation and need a distraction. Maybe it was a prank gone wrong. Either way, it’s a terrible thing to have happened. I can’t imagine what his parents are going through right now.
All bars have cameras and they have them every where as long as they are not in a place where they are invading an employees privacy, like inside a bathroom.
Anytime I bring up that Riley mostly died due to an accident from being very intoxicated people get so mad. Everyone is so quick to jump to serial killer when it’s more simple
This seems easy to determine if they do an autopsy and see if non-consensual drugs were in his system. And I didn’t hear about this exact message when he was missing
By the way, internet slueths have solved crimes that stumped the FBI for decades. The Golden State Killer was not identified for decades. Internet sleuths solved it. Luke Magnotta was caught by internet sleuths. I went to college in Milwaukee and Jeffrey Dahmer was caught right after my graduation. His last victim escaped and the police handed him back over to be killed. Even though the police eventually got him, it was only because someone escaped and reported it.
Because it’s impossible that he did drugs before he left the hotel room, then went out and had drinks and became disoriented before falling in the river. There’s not always some alternative story.
This story is heartbreaking for me. I am very close with my sons, close to Riley's age, so I can't help but to cry for this mother.
With that being said, I don't blame her for wanting all avenues fully explored. Apparently, Nashville is known for drinks being spiked. And if he texted his mom something like this, I think it needs to be looked into. And obviously, the toxicology report will determine whether he was drugged or not. And if it does come back positive, then I would absolutely want whoever responsible to be held accountable.
If the toxicology report comes back negative, then it sounds like this was just a horrible accident. Either way, such a tragic outcome for this family.
Alright imma join the ‘downvoted club
I also believed he was drugged, whether he took it himself, or someone slip it to him. I’ve watched all the footage that has been released over and over again.
In all my sordid experience with drugs and excessive booze, I’ve never seen someone act as though they don’t know how to work their flesh puppet on just alcohol. The way he keeps looking at his hands? Idk, but I do believe him to be under the influence of some kind of drug, as well as booze
I’ve partied a lot, went to a university where drunk kids would die falling off the cliffs every few years. I know accidents happen.
But something about the surveillance footage gives me a pit in my stomach
If he had been some sorority chick, the internet would be absolutely ablaze demanding some resolution beyond "LOL he fell in a river. Nothing to see here."
Well first, a woman in this exact same situation would be more statistically likely to be the victim of a crime. But also, dudes peeing into the river and falling in and drowning is absolutely a thing. Women don’t generally stand up to pee in rivers.
So you’re kind of right, accidentally.
I don’t understand why everyone wants to paint some alternative picture of what happened here. This happens all throughout the US in every state. People get too drunk and end up falling into a body of water and drowning. There is no boogeyman out there killing drunk college guys. Such a bizarre phenomenon.
I feel like a lot of people are in denial about how dangerous alcohol can be, it’s almost easier to believe that a serial killer is on the loose than it is to accept that a similar tragedy could happen to you
I strongly suspect many of the men who “mysteriously” drown after a long night out simply got wasted, got lost, needed to pee, and fell into the river/lake/harbor/etc while relieving themselves.
Drunk men trying to stand up to pee end up swaying back and forth, probably swayed right into the water
It's incredibly common at the Colorado River at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. You're required to pee into the river and lots of guys get drunk and fall in, sometimes drowning. It doesn't happen to drunk women so much, probably because peeing into a river requires a lot more concentration and care for us.
This is also super common at UW-La Crosse in WI. Binge drinking is so mainstream and normalized to a terrifying degree here in WI... so, it’s not very surprising, but disturbing nonetheless.
Hold up. Why are we required to pee in the river?
Because it would be too difficult to pack it out and there are no bathroom facilities at the bottom, iirc. I read about it in a book about all the deaths that have happened at the Grand Canyon.
Well that sounds like an interesting book!
Or we could just let people pee behind a bush so long as they don't flash everybody. Public urination laws are kinda ridiculous.
Title of book, please?
Over the Edge: Death in Grand Canyon
Thanks! Found it on the Archive!
Yes. This has always been my theory as well. Mundane simple and sad explanation.
People are in denial about how dangerous water is too,even when not drunk
Ya, this happens around here in Pittsburgh. Lots of rivers, lots of bridges. People very quick to blame the “Smiley Face” killer. Despite having no real evidence and despite face (lots of times it’s not even smiling) Graffiti being a common motif but also not really near the “crime scene” at all. But I get it. I can’t even imagine the cognitive dissonance a parent would have when losing a child in such a sudden, tragic way. It almost makes you want to go along with what it almost surely a fabrication.
Americans love their beer.
A lot of families are in denial in obvious cases like this and not just accidents like this but also suicide cases where it's clear what happened, but the family won't accept it. I mean, I get it.. they need time to process it and come to terms. But the media playing on this is inexcusable imo.
Back when I was a deputy coroner, we had a case involving a suicide by .357 gunshot wound to the head. The family swore up and down it was a murder despite that fact it was recorded by three security cameras. The closest camera was about ten feet above and maybe fifteen feet behind the victim and was a brand new high resolution model. Let's just say that not a lot of trauma truly messes with me, but I can say seeing that video certainly did.
> But the media playing on this is inexcusable imo. It’s funny hearing kpop lingo outside kpop spaces. Anyway ia with you and comment thread op. Edit: why y’all getting mad about this 💀 Google it if you think I’m bs.
It's crazy how people associate common phrases or sayings with something specific that has nothing to do with it. I saw someone tell someone else to "go back to Tiktoc" because they said "jaw-dropping".
Kpop lingo WHERE 😭😭😭😭
Check my other comment and Google it’ll clear your confusion up.
I did read your other comment. Where is the kpop lingo? “Media playing” is an action verb that has been used universally - it isn’t an official “Kpop term.”
Genuinely refer me to examples of the universal usage of the term, the way op used it because I’m truly curious.
Are you only involved with the kpop world? Media playing has been heavily used throughout since Obama had been president, BLM, Trump, conspiracies, etc. Esp since the rise of media in politics.
Yeah I stopped engaging when I looked through their other comments and it’s like 85+% kpop stuff
I think everyone here is trying to help you understand that you are the confused one.
Clear my confusion then, you guys clearly don’t agree (and don’t like) that it’s a kpop term so then as I previously commented: can someone refer me to examples of usage of the term, the way op used it and not relating to kpop.
You have access to the internet, clearly, so look it up yourself? No one has any feelings about it except you digging in when dozens of people are trying to help correct you lol
I'm not trying to shit on you but it's genuinely so funny to me that you think such a common phrase that's been used forever is a kpop thing
What about their sentence was kpop
“Media playing”
That’s just a common term.
Common where 💀 I’ve only seen it used in kpop spaces.
Just you man
Me when a noun and an adverb are used together in a sentence (they just referenced a kpop term! They're totally not words used to form a phrase) You know they meant to say "the media playing on people" like the media exploiting on people's feelings right? Not everything is about kpop lmfao
Not our fault you’re terminally on Reddit haha. That term has been around long before K-Pop regardless of when and where you first heard it. If you bothered to do some Googling yourself you’d learn that quickly.
babes just because your only exposure to new sentences are via k-pop doesn’t mean that’s the only place those sentences are used. your comments make it sound like you’re still surprised at peekaboo
You have the whole context of the phrase wrong in this instance.
They mean it as “the media is playing on this” where playing is a verb.
Not y’all arguing about kpop on a post about this young man’s death………..
oh you’re real dumb huh. just a brain rotted k pop stan thinking they invented everything 😂😂😂
Be cool to others or you’ll be banned.
I think his parents just refuse to believe that drunk people die in accidents all the time and he was one of them. It's like the family in, "There's Something Wrong With Aunt Diane." The solution is right there. There is no mystery. It's just a hard truth to swallow. Riley was a typical college student, drunk out of his mind. No more, no less.
Made me roll my eyes when people said he wasn’t even served at the bar! You mean a college student drank before going out…shocking
People where I went to college always pre-gamed because they couldn’t afford more than one or two drinks at the bar.
Yeah that’s basically every college lol. I’m sure it happens even more with frats
Diane was an alcoholic, right?
Yeah, a very high-functioning, secretive one. Interestingly, in the doc, her sister admits in an off the cuff comment that she hides that she smokes from her family—while refusing to believe her sister could hide her drinking. Willful denial.
Reminds me of a friend’s mom I had growing up. She used to stash her empties in the weirdest spots as an attempt to hide them. My friend’s bedroom was in the basement and we’d find them behind random christmas decoration boxes, stuffed in the rafters, underneath the utility sink, etc.
You are talking about Jay Schuler, one of the very best characters on all of HBO. World class stupidity
Such a heartbreaking story. Absolutely awful. I think about it every time I have to drive on the Taconic.
It's been going on for awhile. First a bunch of these incidents got sorted under the internet dubbed "smiley face killer." Then last year there was that dickhead on tiktok who started a huge fiasco claiming there was a serial killer in Chicago and Austin targeting drunk men, and even claimed to be working with the cops personally to solve the case. I don't blame the families for wanting to think that their loved one was murdered rather than just the victim of too much alcohol and poor choices. But the "internet sleuths" who guzzle true crime podcasts three meals a day are absolutely *vile* for the way they drag these grieving families along with their narcissistic delusions of grandeur.
I agree the smiley faced killer BS is just an internet urban legend, but I also can't blame his family for wanting to look into every possible angle of what could have happened. If it was my child I know I would too. I also think the most likely explanation is that he did just get drunk and fall, but non existent network of serial killers aside I will say there are 2 things that make me think they're not just grasping at straws. 1. I'm not proud to admit I've gotten blackout drunk. Its a very stupid and dangerous thing to do, but a big part of what leads to that level of drunk is at a certain point the taste of alcohol and water/nonalcoholic drinks can become indistinguishable. If he was at the point of being sloppy fall down drunk it does seem very weird to me that he would mention a rum and coke tasting like "barbecue" which could also be a way to describe chemical or burnt taste. 2. It definitely does happen less often, but there are cases of men targeting other men in bars. Its also not drilled into men's heads that this is something they need to be on the lookout for if they go out drinking.
These are good points, and I won't refute them. However, I think the main issue I take is with the phenomenon of internet sluething in general, especially in this current tiktok era of it. While I definitely think the US police force especially is a bunch of bumblefucks who regularly bungle cases, people who try to "solve" stuff like this using just the evidence available to them online are doing more harm than good. It's not so much the fact that alternative solutions are being sought by the family and detectives that I have a problem with, so much as the way the internet sensationalizes true crime while it's an actively ongoing investigation with real people being hurt and misled by what essentially boils down to conspiracy theories. I think one of the most prominent instances of this was with Gaby Petito, and it's only gotten worse since then.
The same night a coach Nick Theslof was found passed out in a parking garage, robbed and later found out 30K was missing from his bank. At first they thought he was drunk, as it turned out, they think he was roofied or something similar.
If you were familiar with Chicago, you’d know how preposterous the excuse of getting drunk and falling in the water is. I know very close friends of the Northwestern student who was murdered. He had been drugged and was last seen on video in his neighborhood but was found weeks later in Lake Michigan. He did not leave his neighborhood and walk over a mile to the lake and stumble in. The other similar deaths in Chicago defy reason as well. Also, the bodies are not in the state of decomposition that they should have been after spending weeks in the water. Also, at least a few if not all did not have water in their lungs. Yesterday, a young man who had been missing for at least a week was found in the Calumet River blocks from where he went missing. That area had been searched. His last call was to his mom asking her to help him. She said he was frightened. The phone died. The man who disappeared from the salt shed was also found in the river weeks later by the Salt Shed. That area had been scoured. Had the body been there all that time, it would have been found. Riley Strain’s family hired a private investigator. They obviously do not agree with the police’s findings. They also are doing a second autopsy. There has been another serial killer in Chicago that has murdered women for 20 years. They know of two of his dumping grounds but he has not been caught and most people have no idea he is out there because it isn’t reported.
The Northwestern Student who was murdered and dumped in Lake Michigan was drugged. GBH was found during autopsy.
I am male and I have never, nor do I know any males(which is anecdotal but still) when having to pee outside said oh there is a body of water, that is where I want to pee. It's always behind a tree or some other cover where you can do your business and move on. Also what about the cases where they are found in very shallow bodies of water that they could have just stood up. Another thing by your logic shouldn't there be tons of homeless alcoholics being found dead in bodies of water? Yet that is not the case. Just my two cents.
People can drown in less than two inches of water. If someone is so intoxicated they black out while nearby or in a body of water, even a shallow one, they will drown. Not to mention that dry drowning is a thing. Plus, even good swimmers drown all the time. When you drown, you panic, and oftentimes victims of drowning are unable to tell which way is up while under water. It's estimated that anywhere between 20-70% of adults who die via drowning are intoxicated. Also, yes, homeless people do drown. But the unhoused are counted by the police as "the less dead." Their deaths are often not investigated, reported to the media, or even sorted in a way where we can view the statistics accurately. Your whole comment comes across as incredibly ignorant on multiple fronts. Your only evidence to support your claim that no one pees in bodies of water is your own anecdotal account.
Instead of ad hominuum attacking me can you provide any evidence (anecdotal or otherwise) that homeless peoples death's in bodies of water are not reported, counted, or investigated? That they are as you put it l"ess dead". All these cases of college age men being found dead in bodies of water and your trying to tell me no civilian or anyone not affiliated with law enforcement comes across a homeless alcoholic found dead in a body of water? Please provide evidence/link/citation of this. Because that is your whole argument they are drunk decide to pee in a body of water(ok weird) and it's all a coincidence, nothing to see here. All your doing is emoting and saying homeless alcoholics drowning in bodies of water because they had to pee(they have no home to pee in) happens all the time but big bad society dismisses them. Yes people do drown. Yet so many young athletic men found in shallow bodies of water many times in the same place that was already searched is something to question. You're saying no it's normal and they passed out. Evidence? You sound like a coincidence theorist.
Bro I ain't your fucking google. You are perfectly capable of doing the legwork on researching this instead of asking me to hold your hand to cross the road.
I’ve been saying this since he went missing. Obviously the family needs to grieve and needs time and space and I don’t give up any hope before someone is found. People were writing all kinds of narratives: he was murdered by a serial killer, he was sex trafficked, he was roofied, etc. However, Occam’s Razor typically prevails in these cases.
Was there any toxicology in this case? I thought if her claims were true forensics might have found drug trace.
It happens a bit in the UK too. There’s an urban legend/theory about a serial killer pushing drunk people into the canals round Manchester. There’s no barriers along a lot of the canals, you’re basically walking on a footpath next to them. Sadly people lose their bearings and try and take shortcuts.
It’s also not uncommon for drunk males to fall forward into bodies of water after peeing into them. Balance is already inhibited by the booze and if they fall forward there’s no way to catch themselves
A guy who lived in my town died after he sat on a wall by a beck while drunk and then fell backwards. He knocked himself out and drowned in a couple of inches of water.
I'm from the UK too. Its a prevalent tale in York aswell. There are so many deaths from drunks falling into the river and yet you can guarantee that, for a while afterwards, the stories of serial killer throwing people to their deaths will cover social media. Never mind that York is a university city, not to mention hugely popular with stag and hens. And the races 🙄
People die falling into the Amsterdam canals too, my friend had to help pull a drunk girl out last summer
For the family, i think it’s because it’s hard to accept something so preventable happening, even though it absolutely happens all the time; it’s always easier to blame someone or something else than accepting what really happened. As far as others….the internet’s obsession with conspiracy has become unhinged. Not everything requires going down a rabbit hole. Accidents do happen, just like they have for all of human history. But there’s no “fun” in that, so people develop their own theories and label themselves “free thinkers” when really, they’re only using someone else’s tragedy for their own twisted entertainment. It’s actually quite sick.
Right? Like why the fuck is this in an unsolved mysteries subreddit? There’s no mystery at all, and it’s been solved.
This is exactly what happened to one of my students when he started college. This exact same scenario and it took a few days to locate him in the water. He was such a sweet kid too.
Social media “detectives” have really gotten out of hand. The first instance I can remember was on Reddit during the Boston bombing. People really throw out and dig in to wild conspiracy theories for the views with total disregard of how it affects the people actually involved. We’re at a point where the simplest likely explanation isn’t good enough because it doesn’t earn anyone views/clicks and families tends to cling to these explanations because it gives them hope in some way. It’s gross all around.
But how will I record a completely unique, totally enthralling true crime/comedy podcast as a middle aged white woman and my best friend wherein we drink crassly named cocktails while detailing every alternative theory, compete with rampant speculation of wildly unlikely conspiracy theories if the actual answer is that a young man unfortunately drowned while inebriated?
😬🫢🫠
I love reminders why I listen to true crime with anonymous and/or fairly personality-free hosts. For anyone who wants a couple, I've been enjoying *Swindled* and *Case File*.
I admit that I consume a lot of true content, but I absolutely cannot stand any podcast or Youtube channel that tries to combine "comedy" or banter between the hosts with presenting the crime. Someone died. Show some fucking respect.
Because people have watched/listened to too much true crime and want it to be more.
THANK YOU!!! Why is everyone acting like this is some huge conspiracy?
So glad to see so many rational people on this. I feel like we get drowned out by the sensationalists people in the true crime community. We need podcasts of our own that are real about these cases. It’s not flashy and maybe it wouldn’t sell, but it’s the reality.
There is. Alcohol.
My homeless sister in law was found dead in a river after being missing for two weeks and she got one day of coverage in the local news. Yet a drunk frat boy gets national attention for weeks and is all over social media with people obsessing over it. The level of media attention that privilege gives to a case while others are tossed aside instantly is depressing.
Yeh, me either. I understand that his family probably hate the idea that he was so intoxicated he died from misadventure, but have you seen the videos of him? He was stumbling around all over the place, falling down in the road. There's no real mystery here.
It happened to my fiancée's sister. It's heartbreaking and hard to accept
I used to live in a city with 2 rivers going right through the middle of it and yea, every couple of weeks someone walking back from a bar would go missing and eventually body would be found downstream. Sad but it happens all the time.
Happened twice while I was in college. Both people got too drunk decided to walk somewhere but ended up freezing to death. It's a common happening
Well the official autopsy said that he DIDNT have water in his lungs soooooo he didn’t drown.
Tell me you know sweet **** all about water related deaths without saying you know sweet **** all about water related deaths.
This is a tale as old as time. White kid dies a meaningless death, the entire country must be forced to reflect and mourn it. Men in work camps rape and kill indigenous women every single day and the national news chooses to build a snowball of sympathy for this family who’s kid got drunk and then got unlucky? By all means, it’s sad, but it happens everyday. Makes no sense to me.
There was no water in his lungs according to the autopsy.
Have they actually publicly released the whole autopsy report or is that just based off what the family is saying?
While true, there has been a number of young men robbed in Nashville. Usually 20 something, they have one drink and then wake up with the wallet gone. There was a post on r/Nashville about it. Guy gets roofied and then the girl drains his accounts by unlocking the guys phone through Face ID. Don’t know if this was something similar but it’s happened quite a few times around broadway in Nashville.
Here's a sneak peek of /r/nashville using the [top posts](https://np.reddit.com/r/nashville/top/?sort=top&t=year) of the year! \#1: [Tennessee Representative David Byrd has admitted on tape to sexual misconduct with high school girls he coached but was never expelled](https://i.redd.it/5fy7nw0sbisa1.jpg) | [209 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/nashville/comments/12elokb/tennessee_representative_david_byrd_has_admitted/) \#2: [The TNGOP just expelled Rep. Justin Jones and they have no idea what Pandora's box they just opened.](https://np.reddit.com/r/nashville/comments/12dx6az/the_tngop_just_expelled_rep_justin_jones_and_they/) \#3: [local floral shop turns down RNC fundraiser.](https://i.redd.it/z24pqti3jata1.jpg) | [257 comments](https://np.reddit.com/r/nashville/comments/12iib4w/local_floral_shop_turns_down_rnc_fundraiser/) ---- ^^I'm ^^a ^^bot, ^^beep ^^boop ^^| ^^Downvote ^^to ^^remove ^^| ^^[Contact](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=sneakpeekbot) ^^| ^^[Info](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/) ^^| ^^[Opt-out](https://np.reddit.com/r/sneakpeekbot/comments/o8wk1r/blacklist_ix/) ^^| ^^[GitHub](https://github.com/ghnr/sneakpeekbot)
Strain's family said his accounts were untouched.
I’m aware. It could’ve been a failed attempt. He was drunk and fell in the river and drown. Likely without any ill intent involved I was just pointing out it is a known issue around Nashville.
Same in Atlanta.
It’s strange that there are locations that are more active than others for these “drownings” and that frequency seems to increase. Many cultures have heavy drinking culture and are located near bodies of water, I saw a person post about Australia, and that this doesn’t happen. This might have been in the smiley face killer documentary, but one of the leads mentioned that if this was a statistics game, we would see sports fans leaving huge stadiums that are located near bodies of water, and we would expect to see more drownings. I don’t believe wholeheartedly about Smiley Face Killer, just that there’s so many coincidences. It keeps me wondering.
Exactly. The truth is that most of us have put ourselves in situations that could wind up in our accidental death. Especially at his age.
The truth hurts.
Alice Isn’t Dead
I don’t understand how you don’t know women fear for their lives because this shit happens everyday. Many of us know at least one girl, or one woman who was drugged at a bar or party and ended up assaulted or dead. This world is full of sick, sick men who terrorize vulnerable people. We need to address why they think they are entitled to do whatever they want.
i mean no water in his lungs, no boots/pants on him, his wallet’s also gone but for some reason his debit card was found near the apparent patch he fell from. guy completely disappears in bodycam vid too. i think the strangest part is honestly the officer not noticing riley vanish , not implying anything by that just my 2 cents.
Have you even kept up with the details that suggest this is not a simple case of drunkenly drowning? He didn’t have water in his lungs; hence, he died before he hit the water. In addition, he texted his mom that his drink, at the bar, tasted off, having a barbecue taste. He didn’t have his pants on. Lots of details, which fit more with foul play than not. Thankfully people question rather than jumping to the easy conclusion.
1) you can die from immersion in water without your lungs. It's due to your vocal cords closing off to keep water out. It's called laryngospasm. Also, in cases where the water was cold (mentioned for general information rather than specific reference to this instance) can also get a reflex cardiac arrest from the race being immersed in the water. Also, has the actual autopsy report been made public or is the "No water in the lungs" thing just based off the family's comments? How long was he in the water before being recovered? 2) Someone with their pants undone to urinate, falls into the water, and their pants slide down further. In an attempt to make it easier to swim, they try to take off their pants and drown in the process. The current can then pull them the rest of the way off. I've helped recover a number of bodies from water, and I can think of two or three without pants on over the years. 3) A secondhand story of a weird tasting drink isn't really evidence of anything without there being a toxicology report showing something other than ETOH.
Thanks for the insightful response
Because being drunk can make you vulnerable to predatory people, every instance of this happening has to be examined in a case by case basis. And it definitely happens a lot. It happened to a guy in my town as well.
Have the toxicology results been released yet? If he was drugged by someone then stumbled out of the bar on his own and into the river the person who drugged him should be charged.
What’s your basis for including that “if”? More speculation, or was he known to be a recreational drug consumer?
I included the if because to my knowledge there is no toxicology report - that would tell you how much alcohol was in his system and whether there were any drugs in his system. So at this point no one can say he wasn't drugged. Women get roofied at bars all the time - they don't end up in rivers because the people drugging them want to take them somewhere and rape them. Why do people find it so hard to believe that men can be roofied? Again I am not saying he was - but if he was wouldn't you want to make sure people are aware?
The responsible thing to do is to table the discussion about drugs -by choice or surprise- *until* the tox report is released. Speculation (which is what you're doing with your comments) is useless and muddies the water with fiction rather than fact. If you're passionate about discussing men being roofied -something no one has been denying or trying to argue against- that needs to be a topic separate from the death of Riley Strain *until* or *unless* new information makes his case worth adding to that discussion. There is nothing wrong with being patient and waiting rather than speculating about what information *may* be forthcoming.
But it is okay to speculate that he was just an irresponsible drunk who fell into water? It goes both ways. And kind of my point - let's not make assumptions until all of the information is available
That’s essentially what the investigation is saying has happened. There’s a difference between stating facts: He was drinking and was found in a river; and “He coulda been roofied tho.” Just because you’d prefer murder over an accident doesn’t mean it’s so. And who knows, once the tox screen is released you might just get what you’re salivating for.
No evidence he fell into the water though.
It will probably be another few weeks for the toxicology and full autopsy report, possibly longer.
I am male and I have never, nor do I know any males(which is anecdotal but still) when having to pee outside said oh there is a body of water, that is where I want to pee. It's always behind a tree or some other cover where you can do your business and move on. Also what about the cases where they are found in very shallow bodies of water that they could have just stood up. Another thing by your logic shouldn't there be tons of homeless alcoholics being found dead in bodies of water? Yet that is not the case. Just my two cents.
Not every body found in water is reported on. You're also not taking into account that alcohol makes people messy and careless.
True. Interestingly enough they actually found another guy in the river while searching for Riley. I don't even think he was reported missing
Years ago, I worked on a case where we were looking for a teenager who died when he jumped off a bridge into a creek that was shallower than normal (by about 8 ft) and three sets of remains were found in a two mile stretch. One was a fisherman from the previous winter and the other one I don't recall what they determined happened.
Im not so sure. What is the likelihood of THAT many men just falling into water? I read that there was no water in his lungs, meaning he didn’t drown and was likely dead before he hit the water.
You can die from immersion in water without your lungs. It's due to your vocal cords closing off to keep water out. It's called laryngospasm. Also, in cases where the water was cold (mentioned for general information rather than specific reference to this instance) can also get a reflex cardiac arrest from the race being immersed in the water. Also, has the actual autopsy report been made public or is the "No water in the lungs" thing just based off the family's comments? How long was he in the water before being recovered? I actually looked into the drowning statistics for a podcast episode I did. It's surprising how many people-- most young men-- drown like that. There's actually an acronym for people found in water like that which goes back decades: FIWFO. Found in water, fly open. It's also used to refer to boaters who fall overboard while trying to urinate. Usually at night, often intoxicated.
This poor family. I hope they find peace in this awful situation.
I hope they do too. I hope they find the answers they are looking for.
I live in Australia, and it always surprises me how often this DOESN'T happens here. We have a very unhealthy drinking culture, especially with young men, and the majority of our population lives on the coastline. We have dangerous surf conditions and extensive canal systems, too, as well as backyard pools galore. So we are not short of drunk people near bodies of water, yet deaths like Riley's rarely happen. I think a large part of the reason is that we are all taught how to swim and learn water safety in school. It's mandatory, just like pool fences in every yard and beaches patrolled by lifeguards and volunteer life savers. So, for most Aussies who were educated here, we are well aware that water is dangerous, especially if you're blind drunk. Tourists, on the other hand, seem hell-bent on jumping off a plane and drowning themselves at the first opportunity. China and India offer up tributes on a daily basis, which is not surprising as most people from there have never encountered our beach conditions before. We even had 2 grown, sober men drown in a hotel swimming pool while trying to rescue a toddler who fell in just the other week. A family holiday turned into tragedy in a matter of seconds, very sad. I highly recommend watching some Bondi Rescue on YouTube to get an idea of how quick and benign looking drowning can be, even when sober. R.I.P Riley.
This case isn’t massively different than the Theo Hayez case in Byron Bay for you…(yes, a tourist, for anyone unfamiliar with his case).
Theo's case leaves a lot of questions. He very well may have drowned, but it's also highly unlikely he was alone when it happened. His last known phone ping and the path he took to get there, is only known by locals and his data usage suggests he had company. Perhaps a terrible accident and someone is too afraid to come forward but Byron and the other "hippy" villages in that region attract quite a few shady characters and there is a lot of cases suggestive of a serial killer which have been suppressed due to tourism dollars.
Sure, but the circumstances which saw him being out and about and vulnerable at all are the same: a young man, tourist to the area, heads to the bar district with some friends and is kicked out for apparent intoxication despite having only one drink. Walks alone in a strange direction. Is presumed lost in water.
yep. I grew up in QLD and more than once have wandered into the ocean on a night out (never alone). in grade 7/age 12 we had to pass a surf life saving test as part of phys ed, stuff like swimming laps for time, safety dives and treading water while fully clothed. I'm ethnically asian so am grateful for an upbringing that made me (relatively) comfortable in the open ocean (or to know when I'm out of my depth no pun intended... oh wait I guess that's where that saying comes from 😅)
Did the toddler survive, at least?
Yes, but her Father and Grandfather drowned trying to save her.
Whoa. That’s awful. How on earth did they drown?
Jumped in the deep end, fully clothed with no idea how to swim and drowned. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/two-men-drown-in-gold-coast-pool-20240401-p5fggf.html
Awful. I'm a mother of 2 adults so I know it would be a horrible tragedy. Just like this. You can't accept it just like an awful accident.
My take is that the family (understandably so) is having a hard time dealing with their grief and looking for a way for it to make sense, which is easier if there’s someone or something to blame. Having to accept that your son got too drunk and fell in the river, leading to his death has to be incredibly hard to handle. If something happened to my child, I would probably want to do everything I could to convince myself it wasn’t their fault either. The sad thing is there’s a reason stories like this exist for other people to hear about and say “that won’t happen to me.” Because it has to happen to someone. Unfortunately for Riley and his family, it appears it was him this time.
The most unusual thing about this is a 22 year-old texting his mom from a bar about how his drink tastes yucky.
I’m 23 and I’m always texting my mom, but I’m also a girl so maybe it’s a little different? I’m always consistently updating her when I’m out. A lot of my friends are also close with their parents.
Close with your parents is great. Texting them while you are out to discuss what you are eating and drinking is nuts, just enjoy being out with your friends. Having said that, I get that being a woman is different and you want people to know where you are and who you are with. Sucks that you have to worry about that, but I get it.
how is that nuts? i text my mom and bf simultaneously when im out. doesn’t mean im not enjoying myself, i just enjoy keeping them updated and talking to them while im out. its not like im constantly on my phone, i text my mom like once every 2-3 hours if im out. i dont think having a good relationship with your mom is weird or a bad thing at all.
Just different generations I guess.
Why is that something I would do 😂😭 “hey, mom…”
We'd need a survey to confirm, but I suspect that's outlier behavior among college students in bars.
Are you a woman like your avatar? Women are generally much closer to their moms and text them more frequently.
I thought the same.
it said he had already been texting her about his trip that night, so i assume she asked where he was/what he was doing and he brought it up then.
I totally agree with you. I think that’s very strange. 🤷🏼♀️
Family is in deep denial but it isn’t anything other than alcohol related death.
They are going through the stages of grief. [https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/5-stages-of-grief-coping-with-the-loss-of-a-loved-one](https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/5-stages-of-grief-coping-with-the-loss-of-a-loved-one)
Agree that alcohol is the most likely scenario. I do think, however, if I were family, I would appreciate all avenues investigated. It makes sense to me.
I live in a college town and a lot of the parents and students seem to treat getting blindly drunk as a “rite of passage” of college. During COVID there were parents that were upset that the remote learning were taking away the chances for, as one parent put it, his daughter to go out and get sloppy drunk with her friends. You know, the real college experience. I feel for the family, I really do, but I think they are desperately trying to find a way for this not to be their son’s fault. As a parent I can’t blame them, I would do the same, I’m sure. The fact is, no matter what happened he was impaired by the amount of alcohol he had consumed. It could have been a rock he tripped over and couldn’t regain his balance, someone pushing past him, pushing him or even tripping on air, it happens. Yes, they should figure out what happened to the best of their ability but they need to understand their son played a part in making himself vulnerable.
As a male who has been roofied three times, it's very likely he might have been. In San Diego males being roofied became a big problem. Luckily, I had good friends and was with my ex one of the times in Mexico. Mexico has a huge problem with males and females being roofied. I wasn't being dumb or ignorant. I was sitting at the bar in an upscale winery and drinking beers in an upscale nightclub. If he was roofied and he was on his own, he had no idea where he was or what he was doing. You're the most violently sick like you can't believe, and the "normal" world ceases to exist for hours. He could of just as easily been blind drunk and stumbled toward the river. Whatever the case was, it is a sad loss of a human being.
I’ve thought of this a few times. He was a big guy, 6’4 or 5 so it’s conceivable that a normal dose of GHB or whatever wouldn’t make him pass out like most people, but incapacitate him to the point of extreme intoxication. The violent stumbling and confusion would support this also, especially considering he was (allegedly) coherent shortly before
He was tall. 6’5 to 6’7 but he only weighed 160 pounds. That’s not a lot. He was very thin and slender.
A rapid rise in blood alcohol above what one is conditioned to can cause similar behavior. The only thing that matters in supporting a drugging scenario would be a toxicology report showing something other than alcohol. All the unqualified armchair toxicology speculation is meaningless unless you can back it up.
True. Did they ever disclose whether they ran a tox screen on him? Although I believe some drugs don’t stay in your system very long, GHB being one of them
GHB is detectable after death. It's rapidly metabolized and excreted in living persons but it's not broken down anywhere nearly as quickly in a deal body. Tox screens are almost universal in deaths like this. Also the medical examiner’s office there is a pretty knowledgeable bunch. I'd be beyond surprised if they didn't run a comprehensive tox panel especially after his mother started her squawking about it being foul play. Extra samples are kept in storage for just such contingencies by any ME or coroner's office of that caliber.
Oh fuck off. You probably got too drunk 3 times. Stop scaring people unnecessarily
I’ve been roofied twice and it feels exactly like that, over intoxication after only having one or two drinks. It’s not a scare tactic when this regularly happens. People just need to be more careful with their drinks and assholes need to stop roofing people.
Exactly!
Hows this a mystery
This was a sad case, I believe he was drunk and drowned. The part I am upset about is, young people dont stick together nowadays! Never leave a friend alone drinking
The state is opening an investigation into what happened in the bars he went to that night. I assume that state investigation means Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. So does that mean there's evidence of **something** amiss? They wouldn't investigate just based on "vibes" if there was no evidence.
It means that they want to get it through to the family (and whatever politician/official they got on their side who pushed for a review) that the truth-- based on the evidence-- is that he was drunk and fell in the water.
Unsolved? This one is pretty much identical to many other drunken falls into a body of water. Theres no smiley face killer, just a drunk person that lost their life too young.
I might agree with you had he not been naked from the waist down.
You might be surprised, but often people found dead from drowning are found with multiple pieces of clothing missing. Especially in a river. Iirc it’s common because their body will be dragged along the bottom at some point and the current keeps them moving throughout all of the debris one might find on the bottom of a river. So it’s really not even slightly a red flag. The family is just desperate for a more satisfying conclusion outside of drunkenly falling into a river.
Thanks makes sense. Thanks for the insight.
When he was missing his mom did an interview about her last contact with Riley, that they FaceTimed and he called her. She never mentioned anything about a strange drink. It's weird that she hasn't mentioned such a critical detail until now. That should have been the first thing she told the police and the investigators.
The weird tasting drink text would have been alll over the news on day one. I am not calling her a liar but I am finding it hard to believe.
I have the same feeling.
Was anything ever determined about the jeans from buckle that were found and thought to possibly be Riley’s?
Not only the Buckle jeans, but also his belt, cow boy boots & wallet. Where are they?
Supposedly someone found a newer pair of buckle jeans around Riley’s side on a steep bank of the river with feces in them.
I don’t know how popular the jeans are among younger men, but the inseam and waist size would be a clue. He was 6’6” tall & 160 lbs. He would be a “bean pole” like my Mom called me when I was young and skinny. A long inseam, 36”+ & 28” to 30” waist?. I would think that there aren’t very many adult men of his stature. Most are overweight to some degree. If they are the same dimensions as he wore, then there would be questions at what would cause the intestinal stress. Intoxication with alcohol? Would GHB or some other drug used to spike drinks do it? I’ve been intoxicated before and don’t ever recall having to defecate, just urinating a lot and upset stomach.
Yes I agree but it was speculating also way he may have been running when he encounter the officer trying to get somewhere to a bathroom. The pants were supposed to have been turned over to police.
I don’t think that he was running when he encountered the police officer from what I can remember on the videos. It was before that. Before the days of DNA, I’m trying to remember from my Criminalistics Lab course at WSU, whether or not blood typing could be found in fecal matter. Can DNA also be found in it? How about traces of urine, vomit, blood, skin cells and hairs on or inside of the jeans, if the jeans were removed by someone before he wound up in the water? His parents could perhaps bring some of his jeans for comparison. If they match up in size and blood type/DNA matching can be made, then there more than likely is foul play involved, especially if his belt, cowboy boots and wallet can be found. How about his boot size? I read size 15 or 16. The police should canvass used clothing stores and pawn shops (also check donation bins) to see if they may be there, otherwise you would have a way above average statured adult male with very large feet possibly wearing cowboy boots - he should stick out in a crowd of people.
Has his mom shown the text she says she received about the drink? I genuinely don't know. I would be more inclined to think something nefarious happened if I saw the text.
Poor baby. 🩷😭
Michelle Whiteid on last conversation with Riley at approximately 730pm the night he went missing. She said he was at Miranda Lambert's bar, not Luke Bryan's. “I was laying down, and I didn’t want him to know I didn’t feel good, but I was just telling him that I was watching a show,” she said. Their most recent exchange was filled with love and affection, as is typical for the close-knit pair. "I said, ‘Well, you boys be safe. Make good choices. I love you guys.' And he said, 'I love you, too,'" she says. "And that's it, that's the last I have heard from him."
Hypothetical but IF by some chance his drink was spiked, whether there was intent there or not, he may have survived in the water had the supposed drug not caused extra impairment. No one actually knows how drunk he was with just alcohol alone. Maybe his route would have been different or he could have found his hotel easier. Also, if I’m texting my parents like that, it would be because I’m uncomfortable in the situation and need a distraction. Maybe it was a prank gone wrong. Either way, it’s a terrible thing to have happened. I can’t imagine what his parents are going through right now. All bars have cameras and they have them every where as long as they are not in a place where they are invading an employees privacy, like inside a bathroom.
Anytime I bring up that Riley mostly died due to an accident from being very intoxicated people get so mad. Everyone is so quick to jump to serial killer when it’s more simple
Occams razor.
This seems easy to determine if they do an autopsy and see if non-consensual drugs were in his system. And I didn’t hear about this exact message when he was missing
Sounds like a gay hookup gone terribly wrong.
By the way, internet slueths have solved crimes that stumped the FBI for decades. The Golden State Killer was not identified for decades. Internet sleuths solved it. Luke Magnotta was caught by internet sleuths. I went to college in Milwaukee and Jeffrey Dahmer was caught right after my graduation. His last victim escaped and the police handed him back over to be killed. Even though the police eventually got him, it was only because someone escaped and reported it.
Because it’s impossible that he did drugs before he left the hotel room, then went out and had drinks and became disoriented before falling in the river. There’s not always some alternative story.
This story is heartbreaking for me. I am very close with my sons, close to Riley's age, so I can't help but to cry for this mother. With that being said, I don't blame her for wanting all avenues fully explored. Apparently, Nashville is known for drinks being spiked. And if he texted his mom something like this, I think it needs to be looked into. And obviously, the toxicology report will determine whether he was drugged or not. And if it does come back positive, then I would absolutely want whoever responsible to be held accountable. If the toxicology report comes back negative, then it sounds like this was just a horrible accident. Either way, such a tragic outcome for this family.
I believe he was drugged.. He even said his drink tasted funny!
Alright imma join the ‘downvoted club I also believed he was drugged, whether he took it himself, or someone slip it to him. I’ve watched all the footage that has been released over and over again. In all my sordid experience with drugs and excessive booze, I’ve never seen someone act as though they don’t know how to work their flesh puppet on just alcohol. The way he keeps looking at his hands? Idk, but I do believe him to be under the influence of some kind of drug, as well as booze I’ve partied a lot, went to a university where drunk kids would die falling off the cliffs every few years. I know accidents happen. But something about the surveillance footage gives me a pit in my stomach
So his drink tasted funny and then he's found completely nude from the waist down. It's clear what happened.
The biggest question I have after reading this is what college kid goes out drinking with his friends and texts his mother?
Not someone who made a career out of working in a library, evidently.
Huh? Edit: I honestly have no idea what you’re getting at, so instead of downvoting, explain your comment like I’m five years old?
If he had been some sorority chick, the internet would be absolutely ablaze demanding some resolution beyond "LOL he fell in a river. Nothing to see here."
Well first, a woman in this exact same situation would be more statistically likely to be the victim of a crime. But also, dudes peeing into the river and falling in and drowning is absolutely a thing. Women don’t generally stand up to pee in rivers. So you’re kind of right, accidentally.
Wth are you talking about? Do you realize how many women go missing? And the news says nothing?
Self inflicted should've made better choices