Family friend of Riley Strain says missing University of Missouri student's phone 'did not die' of low battery on night of his Nashville disappearance as tips from public are being sent to cold case unit who are NOT replying to callers

A family friend of missing University of Missouri student Riley Strain has claimed that the boy's mobile phone 'did not die' due to running out of power.

The revelation from Chris Dingman comes after a woman, who believes she saw Strain, 22, the night he disappeared, said calls to tip line set up by the Nashville Police Department go straight to a voicemail for the Cold Case Unit.

This comes hours after Strain's family demanded the FBI take over the case. 

Riley was last seen on March 8 at Luke's 32 Bridge Food + Drink on Broadway, which is owned by country superstar Luke Bryan, according to the police. 

Information has slowly dripped in about the last hours before Strain vanished and family friend Dingman is refuting initial assumptions that his phone lost power.

'That is something that we have been able to find and verify. Riley did have battery power at the time his phone went dark,' he told NewsNation. 

Riley Strain's relatives staunchly believe the missing college student is still alive - and they want the FBI to step in and take over the investigation from the Nashville cops 

Dingman, a family friend, initially spoke Monday where he revealed the last communication anyone could find from Riley - which was a confusing text to a girl he was speaking with.

'She texted him to see how he was doing, if he was having fun. He sent kind of a scripted text back to her saying 'Good lops,'' Dingman said. 

Neither Dingman nor the girl appeared to understand what Strain meant by this, describing it as 'unclear slang.' 

Dingman said he thought to reflect Riley's alleged mental state.

However, some have suggested 'lops' to be an acronym for 'low on power, sorry,' which Dingman says it's not true.

'What we have been told is the phone did not die due to battery capacity,' he added.

Dingman said that it 'wasn't even at five percent, which some kids run around on and frustrates us as parents.'

He also went into further detail as to why Strain was ejected from the bar, saying that it was not due to a confrontation but an employee who 'felt like, you know, maybe he had had enough.' 

Meanwhile, Sabrina Martin, who volunteers with nonprofit group Souls United said she saw someone wearing a distinctive shirt just like Riley was last seen in, complained that local police are not answering a tipline. 

Riley was last seen on March 8 at Luke's 32 Bridge Food + Drink on Broadway, which is owned by country superstar Luke Bryan , according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department

Information has slowly dripped in about the last hours before Strain disappeared and now family friend Chris Dingman is refuting initial assumptions that his phone lost power

Sabrina Martin, who volunteers with nonprofit group Souls United said she saw someone wearing a distinctive shirt just like Riley was last seen in, is echoing the frustration of the family with local police, saying they're not answering a cold case tipline

Nashville police released this haunting image of Strain walking along the sidewalk on the night he vanished, as he asked a cop how he was before telling him that he was 'doing good' 

Martin is a volunteer who works with homeless people near Nashville's downtown, where Strain went missing. She made an important connection several days after Strain's disappearance. 

Despite this, she says that the authorities have not responded to her.

'I have not heard from the police,' Martin said Tuesday, adding that some tipsters are being forwarded to the voicemail of the Metro Nashville Police Department's Cold Case Unit. 

'I have called. I have emailed local news stations. … I found the Crime Stoppers line. That lady did seem to take me seriously, but I have not heard anything back. She did not seem to be aware of Riley's case.' 

Strain's stepdad said people who reached out to CrimeStoppers to report were told by investigators that 'they don't know anything about a Riley Strain case.' 

Earlier Tuesday, Strain's relatives said they staunchly believe the missing college student is still alive - and they want the FBI to step in and take over the investigation from the Nashville cops. 

His worried family who previously slammed cops for doing 'a B-minus job' held a press conference Tuesday.

'With everything that's gone in the past few days - we've been reached out to and we've spoken today with the United Cajun Navy,' Riley's stepdad Chris Whiteid said.

The 22-year-old student has been missing for 10 days, and his worried family who previously slammed cops for doing 'a B-minus job' held a press conference Tuesday

Strain's parents have slammed Nashville cops for doing a 'B-minus job' in the investigation into their son's mysterious disappearance. Pictured: Strain's mother Michelle and stepdad Chris Whiteid (middle) along with his father Ryan Gilbert (right)

Strain's relatives said they staunchly believe the missing college student is still alive - and they want the FBI to step in and take over the investigation from the Nashville cops

'We feel that we need the extra resources to come in and help us as we try and get more organized for our family and see if we can't bring some more clues to light.'

Dingman has also said they want the FBI to be brought in to take over from the cops. So far, Nashville cops have not determined what happened to Strain. 

Riley was seen on surveillance video stumbling away from a bar in Nashville and a homeless person reported Strain was at an encampment the night he went missing. But, his whereabouts after remains a mystery. 

The Delta Chi fraternity member from the University of Missouri had traveled to Tennessee on a group trip for their annual spring formal.

Police crews have searched the Cumberland River near the homeless camp where Strain was reported to have been spotted. 

Now, the 'Cajun Navy' is joining the search later this week. The 'Navy' is a group that uses its boats to help in rescue efforts following hurricanes and other storms. 

'We appreciate more than you'll ever know about the outpouring we have received. Our goal is still to bring Riley home. We feel that is still a pliable goal,' Whiteid said. 

His parents previously discussed how Nashville cops butchered the investigation into their son's disappearance, as more clues to Riley's whereabouts seem to have come from the public than officers.

Michelle Strain Whiteid, left, and her husband, Chris Whiteid, speak to the media during a press conference to update the public about the disappearance of Riley Strain

Riley Strain, 22, is pictured here on March 8 - the night he was last seen at Luke's 32 Bridge Food + Drink on Broadway, which is owned by country superstar Luke Bryan 

A bank card belonging to Strain was found on the embankment near Gay Street, which is a three-minute walk from the Downtown Smoke & Vape Shop on Church Street where he was last seen on video

The parents' criticism of the Nashville cops comes after TikTokers found a crucial piece of evidence that investigators and failed to discover over a week after Strain went missing. 

Two women, Anna Clemdening and Brandy Baenen, had been rummaging through trash along the riverbank when they located Strain's bank card among 'pieces of clothing, shoes, bottles, cans' and more, according to WSMV. 

Strain's father confirmed that police haven't said anything about the bank card being discovered. 

'I think it just shines light on the B-minus job that the police force may be doing.'

Police have defended their search efforts and said they respect any evidence the 'Cajun Navy' provides, according to News Channel 5. 

However, authorities have said that conspiracy theories are not helping in the investigation.  

'We've had people get frustrated with us,' Det. Anthony Chandler said. 'We have to weigh every piece of evidence we get evenly. There's a lot of tips that we are getting that are not tips.'

The department on Monday shared footage on X showing Strain walking along the sidewalk past an officer, who appeared to be inspecting a car with a smashed window.  

Surveillance footage released by the Nashville police show him wobbling and appearing confused as he crossed a closed road near the water

Crews search Cumberland River, area near homeless camp for missing student Riley Strain

Strain says, 'How are you?' to the officer, to which the cop responds, 'How you doing sir?'

'Good you?' Strain says. 'Good,' the officer said back. Metro Nashville PD said that it is evidence the student was away from Gay St, the last place he was seen alive.

The last person to potentially see Strain said he caused a 'commotion' at a Nashville homeless encampment where the student's bank card was later found.

'We heard a commotion. We looked back up. He almost fell over. The last bush right there caught him,' an unidentified man who lives in the camp told WZTV.

He was very, very, very intoxicated. I never seen anybody stumble that hard before,' the man said. 'I yelled get up. They said, "He's just drunk. He's OK."'