Riley Strain's family friend slams frat brothers for producing no photos of his final moments and say the homeless encampment next to river where he died is an 'absolute jungle'

Riley Strain's family friend has hit out at his fraternity brothers for failing to share any pictures of videos of his final moments - and claims the homeless encampment next to the river where he was found dead is 'an absolute jungle'. 

The family dispute claims that Strain fell into the Cumberland River while drunk despite an autopsy ruling out foul play, and have raised questions as to why he was found half-naked.

Speaking to NewsNation anchor Elizabeth Vargas, family friend Chris Dingman said there was no 'physical way' Strain accidentally fell into the water.

When discussing the nearby homeless encampment, he said: 'It's like an absolute jungle. There is no clear, visible shot to the water, let alone the fact that Riley would have had to went by the homeless camps and the people staying in them to even get to the water.'

Dingman also added to the family's criticism of Strain's Delta Chi fraternity members, who did not stay with their struggling brother after he was thrown out of Luke Bryan's bar on March 8 and left to stumble around downtown Nashville.

He claimed neither Strain's friends nor their parents have shared pictures or videos of his final moments from that night.

Strain, 22, was seen leaving Luke's 32 Bridge Food + Drink on Broadway on March 8, according to Nashville police

Dingman's photo of the steep embankment where police say Strain could have fallen into the Cumberland river 

Nashville Police searched a homeless encampment on the water's edge after people living their reported having seen the missing student on the night of his disappearance 

Dingman said: 'We've gotten nothing, and on top of that, I thought that maybe after the parents had done their interview last night that maybe a parent of the fraternity brothers or sorority sisters...started talking to their kids and trying to get info.

'At this moment, we have crickets. There's been nothing that's been said or produced at all.'

Strain's family gave an emotional interview this week questioning why his friends delayed calling the police when he vanished on a night out before taking the 'appalling' decision to continue partying. 

When asked why they thought his friends delayed in calling police, his stepfather Chris Whiteid responded: 'That's the million-dollar question.'  

He also said that after searching emergency rooms for hours, they arrived home to see some of the fraternity brothers waving at them as they returned from a party.

'How does that make you feel?' he said in the NewsNation interview.

Dingman remarked: 'It's extremely frustrating. It's probably a good thing that I wasn't there.' 

Strain's stepdad, Chris Whiteid, claims somebody helped Strain into the water

Strain was seen stumbling around the streets of Nashville on the night he vanished

Dingman took photos of the riverbank where Strain was found and said there was no 'physical way' the University of Missouri student accidentally fell into the water.

'We've been trying to explain to people from day one it's just extreme terrain,' Dingman said as pictures of the steep embankment flashed on the NewsNation broadcast.

He added that police had to 'tie off ropes to rappel' down to where Strain had reportedly been before he ended up in the river, raising further doubt on what actually happened.

Strain disappeared on a March 8 night after being kicked out of Luke Bryan's bar. After videos of Strain ambling through Nashville went viral, his body was found 14 days later on March 22 in the Cumberland River.

A preliminary autopsy found that Strain's body had no cuts or bruises to suggest foul play, which Dingman says is inconsistent with the fall police describe.

The medical examiner also said there was no water in Strain's lungs - which sheds even more mystery on how he died.

Strain's body was found in the Cumberland River, eight miles from where he disappeared

Riley Strain's mom Michelle Whiteid said her son text her to tell her his drink tasted strange hours before he disappeared 

Michelle Strain Whiteid, left, and her husband, Chris Whiteid, right, said they were shocked when Strain's fraternity brothers carried on partying amid his disappearance 

'There's just no physical way that Riley could have fallen on any type of those lengths...and not had any serious body problems with him,' Dingman said.

Strain's parents raised the possibility this week that someone 'helped' their son into the water. 

'If he truly fell in the water, and you can prove that to me, show me,' his stepfather, Chris Whiteid, told NewsNation correspondent Brian Entin. 

'But I can tell you from all the stuff that we've done as far as searching, looking, taking pictures - I don't feel like it's really possible to happen. He may have fallen. Somebody helped him in the water,' Chris Whiteid said.

Strain's mother, Michelle Whiteid, also revealed that Strain texted her only hours before he vanished to tell her his rum and coke that 'didn't taste good.'

'Maybe there was something in it that shouldn't have been,' Michelle Whiteid said, explaining that her son told her the drink 'tasted like barbecue'.