Missing Student Riley Strain's Last Text Message Revealed as Parents Express Frustration with Search

Mar. 15, 2025

The last text messageRiley Strainsent before he went missing has been revealed as thesearch for the University of Missouri student continues.

The 22-year-old student sent his last text message to a woman he was seeing, who had asked Strain how he was doing the night he disappeared, family friend Chris Dingman toldNewsNationon Monday.

In response, Strain wrote back, “Good lops,” according to Dingman.

The family friend mentioned that the woman had a difficult time deciphering the message, and even went to the internet to seek clarification.

Christopher Whiteid

In a separate interview, Michelle Whiteid, Strain’s mother, toldNewsNationshe was “not sure” who the woman is. “He’s got several friends that are female, male. I don’t know the individual he talked to at that time,” she added.

It has been a week-and-a-half since Strain’s disappearance on March 8. The Delta Chi fraternity member was last seen on surveillance footage just before 10 p.m. that evening, a short time after Strain was asked to leave country music starLuke Bryan’s bar in Nashville.

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Riley Strain, the missing college student who disappeared in Nashville on March 8.Christopher Whiteid

New body camera footage was releasedMonday of a Nashville police officer briefly encountering Strain on Gay Street shortly before his disappearance. It is unclear why it took over a week for authorities to release the footage.

Both Dingman and Strain’s parents told NewsNation they have become frustrated with the investigation, including the delays in releasing certain footage.

Riley Strain, the Delta Chi fraternity member who disappeared in Nashville on March 8.Christopher Whiteid

Chris Whiteid, Strain’s stepfather, said they only got to see the footage after requesting a meeting on Friday afternoon.

“We had not seen anything or really heard from them too much throughout the week the previous week. So we were getting frustrated, we wanted to see what they had,” he added.

“We’ve heard multiple people that have tried to call crime-stoppers and leave tips and been told they don’t know anything about a Riley Strain case,” Chris said. “So, lots of confusion. We’re struggling. We’re 10 days in, you know? It’s disheartening.”

Riley Strain, the 22-year-old college student who went missing in Nashville on March 8.Christopher Whiteid

In addition to police’s search for Strain, the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commissionis investigatingif the Missouri college student was overserved before he disappeared. In a statement shared with PEOPLE on Friday, the TC Restaurant Group, which oversees Bryan’s establishment, said they are in communication with the Commission and providing “any records needed to aid the investigation.” The statement added that their records show that, while at the bar, “he purchased and was served one alcoholic drink and two waters.”

His family previously told PEOPLE they’re “not leaving” until they find Strain.

“We’re looking for you,” Chris said in an interview last week. “We know you’re out there.

source: people.com