Riley Strain update: Autopsy results released of Mizzou student who went missing in Nashville

The University of Missouri student's death was ruled as an accidental drowning, according to the Nashville Medical Examiner.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An autopsy conducted by the Davidson County, Tennessee, medical examiner found there was no foul play involved in the death of Riley Strain.

Strain was a University of Missouri student who went missing in Nashville on March 8. His body was pulled from the Cumberland River on March 22.

The autopsy found Strain had a blood alcohol content of .228, nearly three times the legal limit to drive. There were also positive findings of Delta-9 THC and Delta-9 Carboxy THC in his bloodstream.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Riley Strain's family reacts after Mizzou student's body is recovered from river near Nashville

"After review of available investigative information including video surveillance, autopsy examination and toxicological analysis, it is my opinion that Riley Strain, a 22-year-old male, died as a result of drowning and ethanol intoxication," Medical Examiner Gulpreet Bowman said. The manner of death was ruled as accidental.

The autopsy findings are in line with the second, private autopsy Stain's family conducted after they were unsatisfied with the preliminary findings of the medical examiner's autopsy. The details of the preliminary report didn't seem unusual to experts 5 On Your Side spoke with.

Dr. Michael Graham has examined dozens of bodies pulled from the Mississippi River throughout the 40 years he spent as St. Louis' medical examiner.

The recently retired pathologist said the absence of water in the lungs of a body that has decomposed for that long is not unusual. A victim could still drown and be found without water in their lungs.

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