‘Missing in plain sight’: Thousands join search for Riley Strain online, some in person

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The disappearance of Riley Strain in Nashville has ignited a nationwide effort to find the 22-year-old University of Missouri student.

Strain went missing Friday, March 8 after a night out with friends from his fraternity in downtown Nashville. Strain was escorted out of Luke’s 32 Bridge on Broadway around 9:35 PM and hasn’t been seen in person since.

The case has caught national attention and posts related to it on social media sites like TikTok have been viewed or liked tens of thousands of times.

Metro police release new video of Riley Strain

On Sunday, women who connected on social media found one of Strain’s bank cards after looking in an area previously searched by law enforcement. Since MNPD has verified the card belongs to Strain.

Steve Fischer is a private investigator based in California who is looking into the case for free.

“It’s great to have law enforcement,” Fischer said. “But their thing is…if there’s no proof of an absolute, you know, crime, they need as many eyeballs as they can out there and looking at every minute counts, and these missing person cases.”

Fischer has been reaching out to businesses with surveillance cameras near where Strain was last seen and posting his findings on social media.

“The size of the community that comes together to help and to spread awareness, or people that are local to help out in search. It’s incredible, and things that can be uncovered,” he said.

The “Missing Riley Strain” Facebook page has more than 44-thousand members and has been a space for people to share suspicions, potential evidence, and thoughts about the case.

Riley Strain’s bank card found near Cumberland River

The group’s administrator, Whitney Sich, said she works constantly to make sure nothing on the page encourages conspiracies or could be disrespectful to Strain’s family.

“The most important part is we try to find the ones of substance, we try to go through these pending posts and give them to the family and law enforcement. And we also direct people who are trying to post important information to the proper channels,” Sich said.

Sich has a nonprofit dedicated to finding missing people and said while many people look to true crime stories for entertainment, she is trying to keep this one focused on helping the Strain family.

“It’s real life, and we try our best to make sure that it’s not treated like a movie or entertainment. We are empathetic to the families, we believe in discussion. Speculation can be healthy, but we don’t let in the things that are conspiracy theories, and people just coming up with movie plots,” she said.

TIMELINE: The disappearance of Missouri student Riley Strain, what we know so far

Ryan Gilbert, Strain’s father, has commented on the group’s page himself, thanking people for volunteering their time to help search for his son.

“It’s been appreciated more than you know,” Gilbert posted to the group.

Sich didn’t have a definitive answer as to why Strain’s story has gotten so much attention but said part of it is how kindly his family has described him and the circumstances of his disappearance.

“In downtown Nashville, there are so many people and everyone sees each other, and then all of a sudden someone goes missing from the crowd. And so it’s just, it’s baffling. And people want to figure out where he is,” she said. “So when a six foot five tall person goes missing in plain sight, people want to know where the young person, young man, or young woman went, and what they can do to help.”

Her hope is that the attention on Riley Strain will trickle down to other missing person cases.

“So you want to hope that more awareness will come out of his story and that people will be drawn to more missing person cases by learning of Riley’s story and realizing that anyone can go missing in plain sight,” she said.

Riley Strain Continuing Coverage | The latest in the search for the missing Missouri student

Family friends of the Strains said, while they are appreciative of the grassroots efforts to find Riley, they also want to make sure people are being respectful and safe.

Strain is 6-feet, 5-inches tall, with a slender build, blonde hair, and blue eyes, according to his family. If you see Strain or have any information about where he may be, you are asked to call the MNPD at 615-862-8600.

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