University of Missouri senior Riley Strain’s parents have slammed his fraternity brothers for partying and waiting to call the police even as he went missing. The 22-year-old vanished in Nashville, Tennessee. He was in Music City for a fraternity conference with his Delta Chi fraternity brothers. His body was later discovered in the Cumberland River.
The fraternity’s actions have deeply upset Michelle Whiteid and Ryan Gilbert, Strain’s mother and father, as well as their spouses. They have revealed that the members of the fraternity informed police about Strain’s disappearance only the following afternoon. The previous day, they chose to attend the event instead.
‘It's appalling’
Whiteid revealed that she had been texting Strain throughout the night of March 8, but the next day one of his fraternity brothers called and asked her if she had heard from him. "I said, 'What do you mean, he's with you? Why would I? What do you mean you can't find him?'" Whiteid recalled saying. The frat brother replied, "Well, he's not in the hotel, and we can't find him."
Gilbert told NewsNation, "We weren't really happy with them, to say the least. It's appalling."
{{/usCountry}}Gilbert told NewsNation, "We weren't really happy with them, to say the least. It's appalling."
{{/usCountry}}Whiteid said that she urged the brother to call the police, but they still waited two more hours before finally alerting authorities. "Why wouldn't they have called the police when they got back at 3:15 in the morning and didn't see him then? Why didn't they call the police? I don't know," she said.
Shortly after getting the news, Whiteid, her husband Chris Whiteid, and Gilbert went to Tennessee from Missouri. They provided a statement to cops, and noticed that a report was still being finalised.
The fraternity members headed out to a formal even as the family desperately searched for Strain. Strain’s family claimed that some of the frat brothers waved at them while returning from the night out.
Strain disappeared after being kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge. His mom recently revealed that he told her he ordered a rum and coke but it “didn’t taste good.” “Maybe there was something in it that shouldn’t have been,” she said. Witnesses and surveillance footage revealed that Strain was “very, very intoxicated” after being thrown out of the bar.