Riley Strain's family and friends still want answers on what happened to the 22-year-old. The family ordered a second autopsy last week after Strain's body was found missing its pants, shoes, and with little water in his lungs.
However, one forensic pathologist believes that Strain's death was accidental. Speaking with Fox News, Dr. Michael Baden says there is "still no evidence of any foul play." He explained that Strain's body shows "no foul play-related trauma," which explains why police aren't currently treating it as a homicide.
He told the outlet, "Bottom line is, there's no evidence of any foul play here. The history is that he had been in a bar. The bartender says they only gave him one drink, but that's up to the toxicology report. However, it is common, despite some expert opinions, or individuals in rivers flow downstream to have... parts of their clothing taken off by, branches in the water, by rocks, by rubbing against hard objects, by boats — that will all take clothing off. So the fact that he lost his pants and boots is not at all evidence that he was having foul play."
Baden said that Strain could have lost his pants and shoes in the river due to debris. Likewise, he also has an explanation for the lack of water found in Strain's lungs as well. Baden explained that no one really knows how much water was in Strain's lungs.
Pathologist Explains How Riley Strain May Have Died
He explained, "That's the issue about water in the lung after two weeks of composition in water. The amount of water that was in the lungs at the time of drawing and drowning, causing death, is of no value because the amount of water in the lungs changes a great deal. Sometimes going up, sometimes going down, as the body decomposes. So, with a decomposing body, two weeks in the water, the amount of water that was present [in the lungs] at the time of death is so unknown."
Likewise, Baden said that it's the lack of oxygen that will kill someone, not the water. "So, if somebody goes in the water and because of a spasm of the windpipe, because ... if you can't breathe, you get a little spasm there. It's the lack of oxygen that causes the person to die. And one can have lack of oxygen and water without water getting into the lungs, but just by creating a spasm in the air passages," he explained.
The pathologist also cast doubt on the theory that Strain was robbed. Baden pointed out that the 22-year-old still had his expensive watch on his wrist. He said, "This is a classic case of somebody falling in the water while intoxicated, who then flows downstream with the river. He doesn't stay in one spot. He's flowing downward, which can rip more clothing up because there are a lot of branches in rivers and things like that. ... And, it's interesting here that he had his shirt. The socks on. And he had an Apple Watch on or something. It doesn't look like it was a robbery of his valuables."
