21 March 2024 , 20:43
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Rescue workers and police working on the Riley Strain case have turned their attention to a dam about 40 miles from where the Missouri student disappeared while visiting Nashville.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department shared videos on their Twitter of the chopper searching the Cheatham Dam, about 40 miles down from the Cumberland River that runs through the area of Nashville that Strain was staying in with friends when he vanished.
His parents and local authorities are now focused on that area, as they say the currents "were very strong" when he disappeared on March 8. CBS affiliate WTVF reported that officers from MNPD worked together with the Cumberland Department to inspect any debris that floated through the dam. Sadly, they so far haven't found anything that looks like it might be related.
READ MORE: Missing student Riley Strain's family having tough 'conversations' about what 'everyone's thinking'
Metro PD released footage of the chopper searching a dam 40 miles away for any signs of Riley Strain (Metro Nashville PD)In a new video posted to X, the MNPD wrote: "Our helicopters continue to fly over the Cumberland River in the ongoing search for Riley Strain. MNPD & @NashvilleEOC boats were on the water again today. The Cheatham Co. Sheriff's Office is also assisting down river. See him? Pls call 615-862-8600."
Body of boy, 5, missing for three months recovered from fast-flowing river
They shut down the dam this week in order to perform the search. Strain's parents are in Nashville assisting with the search and waiting for any new information.
Missing student Riley Strain got kicked out of Luke Bryan's bar in Nashville and was never seen again (Metro Nashville PD)
His parents are reportedly beginning to have 'difficult conversations' (WZTV)The 22-year-old vanished after being booted from a Nashville bar owned by country star Luke Bryan while on a trip with college friends. He was seen walking for the next few minutes through CCTV footage but at some point, he drops off the map and hasn't been seen since.
"Somehow, Riley may have fallen into the river and was swept away by the current," David Flagg, the director of operations for the United Cajun Navy, a volunteer disaster relief organisation that is now assisting in the search for Strain, told WTVF. "The current was very, very swift on the day that he disappeared."
Boats are combing the river and the dam nearby (WZTV)For 15 days, rescue crews have been searching for Strain in the river while investigators examine every piece of footage and try to piece together eyewitness accounts. His parents said they're beginning to have the difficult "conversation" with authorities.
"Put yourself in our shoes," his stepfather, Chris Witeid, told ABC News. "Your family, your brother, your sister — they've been missing for almost two weeks."
He continued: "Everybody knows it. Everybody's thinking it — those conversations are starting to happen. It's not what we want. And I understand that people want to know what we're feeling — we're feeling frustrated. We're feeling hurt. We're feeling depressed."