Riley Strain’s Family is Given the Private Investigator’s Final Report on Her Death in Nashville
A private investigator who worked on the Riley Strain case gave the Strain family a nearly 300-page report with all of his results.
Steve Fischer, a California-based detective with a license in Tennessee, said on X, the site that used to be Twitter, that he gave them the report and a 49-minute video presentation with more video surveillance.
Fischer didn’t say much about what he found in his report, but he also didn’t disagree with the authorities’ claim that Strain’s death was an accident.
“As this is the family’s report, I cannot disclose my investigative determination or the report’s contents,” he told me. “The family has full freedom to do what they want with the report, including whether they agree with what it says or speak out about it or the case in public.” These choices are out of my hands.”
Trying to get in touch with Strain’s family did not work right away.
The 22-year-old Strain was kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge Food and Drink in Nashville on March 8 while he was out with fraternity mates on Broadway. He hasn’t been seen since.
Surveillance footage showed Strain going around downtown and sometimes tripping.
He talked to a police officer in a friendly way near 1st Avenue North and Gay Street. On March 17, five days after he was last seen, his bank card was found near the Cumberland River, about eight miles from where his body was found.
The Davidson County Medical Examiner’s Office did an autopsy on Strain and shared the results last month. The autopsy said that Strain died in an accident.
According to the report, there was fluid in Strain’s chest and medical conditions that can happen when there is too much water in the lungs. However, there was no word of water being in his lungs at the time of the autopsy.
His toxicology result also showed that he had almost three times the legal amount of alcohol in his blood. The report also said that Strain had nicotine and THC in his blood. The THC was Delta-9, which is legal in Tennessee.
The Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission looked into Luke Bryan’s bar and found that they did not overserve Strain before they kicked him out for breaking the rules about behavior. The TABC story said that Strain and his fraternity brothers went to four bars on Broadway. When Strain went into Luke’s for the second time, he had already drunk at least seven drinks.
Fischer said on social media that he took on the case in April after talking to Strain’s family. After about a month, he was in Nashville, walking around the area and talking to witnesses, he said.
Fischer said that over 100 hours of video footage had been used to track Strain all night and that he was last seen on the camera of a police officer at 9:58 p.m.
“This includes watching Riley from rooftops in downtown Nashville while he walks along his route without running into anyone.” None of the people or cars that are nearby approach him, he said. “At 9:58 PM, Riley is alone under the bridge.”
Fischer said that his reports had in-depth talks with a lot of witnesses and experts.
Fischer said that some witness statements were not true because it was later proven that a different person was seen around a homeless camp in the early morning hours after Strain went missing. Fischer said that video evidence backed that up.
“With so much data already released, the family may decide not to read my report at this time,” he stated. “It’s a lot to go over again, and the movie that goes with it will be hard to watch. To give them peace of mind, I have tried to be as detailed as possible.
Fischer ended his report by saying that he probably won’t say anything else about the case.
“For now, I extend my sincere condolences to Riley’s family and friends,” he stated. “I found out that Riley was a great young man who had a lot of fans.” I wish I could ease their pain. I love them and wish them peace.