Couple talked with Riley Strain before he vanished: Friend

Editor’s note: The latest update on Riley Strain.

(NewsNation) — A close friend of Mizzou student Riley Strain‘s family said a couple that was visiting Nashville interacted with the 22-year old on the night he went missing.

“The mother reached out, she saw Riley and made a comment, like, ‘You’re not driving tonight?’ and he goes, ‘No ma’am,'” Chris Dingman said during a Wednesday interview on NewsNation’s “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.”

“That is literally incredible news that we’ve gotten,” Dingman continued.

The University of Missouri college senior vanished March 8 after reportedly being removed from a downtown bar where he had been partying with some of his fraternity brothers.

Authorities have been scrambling to retrace his steps in a bid to unravel the circumstances of his disappearance.

Dingman said the family is still trying to piece together a timeline and isn’t sure if the interaction with the couple occurred before or after Strain was seen on body camera footage speaking with a Metro Nashville police officer.

Although some cameras captured the soon-to-be graduate making his way through downtown, heading toward the Metro Courthouse, his family explained there are gaps and cameras pointed in the wrong direction that make it hard to know exactly where to look for Strain. 

“They (the couple) were able to contact the police,” Dingman said. “They reached out several days prior that they have been in contact with the police and turned over their information.”

Dingman also previously said Strain’s phone had battery power when it went dark, contradicting initial assumptions.

These details come as the United Cajun Navy has joined the search for Strain as police continue to pour through hundreds of leads and tips.