Police trying to pinpoint missing student’s location by his phone and watch
By Sharon Danquah
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — Police are trying to pinpoint the last place Missouri college student Riley Strain was last seen by using his phone and Apple watch.
Strain, a University of Missouri student, was visiting Nashville with members of his fraternity for a group outing when he disappeared on March 8 after being asked to leave Luke Bryan’s bar on Broadway.
Police have released four videos that show Strain stumbling through the streets of Nashville.
Strain told friends he was heading back to their hotel when he was asked to leave the bar Friday night. However, videos show him walking up Third Avenue North, turn onto Church Street and then continuing on Gay Street before disappearing after a ping near James Robertson Parkway.
“The last contact with his friends was after he left Luke Bryan’s,” Metro Nashville Police Cold Case Sgt. Bob Nielsen said. “I believe one of them tried to reach out to him. I don’t remember if it was by phone or by test. I think he said he heard, it sounded like he was outside. He could hear a lot of loud noise outside but couldn’t get any more information because he wasn’t able to actually speak to him.”
Police have spent days scouring the downtown area for clues. Nielsen said they’re digging through Strain’s call logs, text messages and any locations pings that could’ve gotten lost.
“Some of the data we are still waiting on,” Nielsen said. “There’s a legal process when you’re getting some of this information, so sometimes it’s multiple steps and a lot of it depends on the company that you’re trying to get that information, whether social media or cell phone company.”
Police are also looking for information on the Apple Watch Strain was wearing.
A phone location specialist told WSMV4 that in some of these cases, the company that created the phones or watches can track down more precise locations of the devices before they turned off.
“Right now, we have requested some of that information. We have done emergency pings and are just trying to get that information from them,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen said they’re hoping to get new information from Strain’s phone or watch as soon as possible.
Police said the last known location of Strain was somewhere between the Woodland Street Bridge and the James Robertson Parkway Bridge.
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