The mystery surrounding a young college student's final text message continues after a family friend shut down some online theories.
University of Missouri student Riley Strain vanished moments before 10PM on March 8 after he was told by staff to leave a Nashville bar and became separated from his friends, per CNN.
Despite search efforts, the 22-year-old remains missing, with only his bank card having been found near the Cumberland River in Nashville more than one week after he was last seen.
Meanwhile, family friend Chris Dingman has revealed the last text message the missing student sent.
He told NewsNation that Strain sent a puzzling message to a girl he was speaking to who “texted him to see how he was doing”. Strain is said to have responded: “Good lops.”
Dingman said both he and the unnamed girl were confused as to what Strain's text message meant, as he went on to add that he believes it may have reflected Strain’s mental state at the time he went missing.
Some social media users have been speculating that “lops” may be an acronym for “low on power, sorry”.
However, Dingman shut down that theory on Tuesday, stating that the young man's phone was not low on power.
“What we have been told is the phone did not die due to battery capacity,” Dingman told the outlet, going on to say that it “wasn’t even at five percent, which some kids run around on and frustrates us as parents”.
He also explained why Strain was kicked out of Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, which is owned by country music star Luke Bryan.
Dingman said it was not as a result of an altercation but a staff member who “felt like, you know, maybe he had had enough”.
The bar confirmed previously that Strain was removed “based on our conduct standards” and that he was only served one alcoholic beverage as well as two glasses of water by staff.
Writing in a Facebook post on Monday, Dingam revealed that Strain’s family had been shown surveillance footage from the night that he vanished, as he explained that “several businesses offered their own security footage down the route where Riley was last seen,” via the Daily Mail.
He said that Strain was shown on the security footage being escorted out of the establishment by a fraternity brother who then went back inside. He explained that the student “was asked to leave not because of a fight, or any type of altercation” but was unable to give further detail.
Dingman added that Strain was then seen walking across the street, where he was refused entry to another bar before he went off on “his journey”.
Last week, the Nashville Police Department released footage showing Strain falling over as he walked across the road and continued down Gay Street, close to where he went missing.
Other footage shows the 22-year-old talking to a police officer at around 9:52PM, with the officer asking him how he is, to which Strain replies: “I’m good, how are you?”
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