BOONE COUNTY, Mo. (KTVI) – Family members of Riley Strain, a University of Missouri student who died last year during a group trip to Nashville, Tennessee, have filed a wrongful death lawsuit against his former fraternity and pledge brothers. Strain, who was reported missing on March 8, 2024, d uring a fraternity trip, was found deceased in Nashville's Cumberland River nearly two weeks later. On the night of his disappearance, he was escorted out of a bar around 9:30 p.m. Surveillance video showed him walking around Nashville by himself shortly afterward. At some point after he left the bar, Strain texted his friends and said he was heading back to the hotel, but he never arrived. Riley Strain’s family speaks after his body is found in Tennessee river An autopsy later classified Strain's death as accidental, listing the cause as “drowning and ethanol intoxication.” The autopsy revealed that Strain’s blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, though authorities did not suspect foul play in his death. A wrongful death lawsuit, filed Friday in the Boone County (Missouri) Circuit Court, argues that the Delta Chi fraternity and its members were negligent in taking proper precautions to ensure all fraternity members would be safe and failed to intervene when Strain was visibly impaired. The lawsuit lists 32 individuals, including Delta Chi chapter presidents, recruitment chairs, and various fraternity leaders and brothers. According to the lawsuit, Strain initially declined to attend the fraternity's annual formal trip to Nashville in 2024, but he ultimately agreed after continued peer pressure from his fraternity brothers. The lawsuit states that Strain boarded a charter bus from Columbia, Missouri, to Nashville, where Delta Chi members provided beer and "pre-made alcoholic Jello shots using vodka, well in excess of 15% ABV." It claims that Strain was offered multiple drinks despite fraternity policies that should have prohibited such conduct. Shortly after arriving in Nashville, according to the lawsuit, several fraternity members noticed Strain was behaving unusually, struggling to speak, walk and interact with others. By the evening, Strain was described as "visually incoherent." The lawsuit states, "He was leaning against walls to stay upright, stumbling up and down steps, was completely unable to speak or communicate, and needed help." The lawsuit alleges that when Strain was kicked out of the bar, his fraternity brother had two choices: to stay with him and ensure his safety or continue partying. "Riley’s Delta Chi brothers chose to continue partying," the lawsuit states. After he left the bar, "Without help, he immediately began walking in the wrong direction and away from the hotel where the fraternity was staying," the lawsuit states. The lawsuit further claims that Strain wasn't checked on until the next day. It alleges that most of the Delta Chi group returned to the hotel around 1 a.m. on March 9 and that Strain's roommates noticed he was missing but didn't take action. The next day, Strain's parents were reportedly informed around noon that he was missing, at which point they contacted Nashville police, prompting an extensive citywide search. The lawsuit alleges that Delta Chi failed to prevent dangerous activities, such as excessive drinking at the formal, and failed to act when Riley was in danger. The lawsuit further alleges that Delta Chi's leadership and policies should have prevented events that led to Riley's death. Strain's family is seeking damages for medical, funeral, and burial expenses, as well as compensation for Riley's pain and suffering before his death. The lawsuit also requests additional damages resulting from his death and a jury trial for a court to decide on any further relief deemed "a matter of right." ...read more read less