03/18/2024
Friends and family, This is a picture of Riley Strain. He graduated from Kickapoo. Lauren was a junior when Riley was a senior. They hung out sometimes in high school. He went missing last Friday night in Nashville. I have not been able to get him and his family off my mind. It is breaking my heart what this family is going through. No one knows exactly what happened to Riley. They don’t know if he was drugged or actually did drink too much. He was escorted out of the bar by staff. His friends thought he was going to walk back to the hotel. He never made it and now his story is on the national news. I’m asking everyone to familiarize yourself with Riley’s story. His family has not give up hope that he will be found. I cannot even begin to imagine what his family has been going through!
This past week Steve and I hosted Bella and her six girlfriends in Key Largo for Spring break. We had an early morning flight out of Fort Lauderdale this morning, so we decided to go to the beach yesterday and get a hotel by the airport. We let the girls walk around Fort Lauderdale beach area and also, hang out on the beach. To waste time while the girls were hanging out, Steve and I and two of our friends who also went on our trip to Key Largo, went to a restaurant/bar to eat lunch. While eating, we noticed an older man buying a round of shots for a group of college kids. This man was particularly interested in one of the girls. He must have bought her two shots and then an additional drink that she was holding. My heart sank as I watched him and thought of Riley. Was he a victim of a crime? Did someone slip something in his drink? I watched this girl in the bar/restaurant kiss this older guy on the cheek and take selfies with him. I was not going to leave until I knew she was going to be safe and leave with her friends. The other girl in the group kept trying to get her to leave, but the guy kept engaging them. The next thing I know, he pulls out his business card and gives it to the girl. She proceeds to take another selfie with him and finally one of the guys in the group got the girl to leave. It was scary to see how easily a fun trip could turn out very badly. As Bella is about to graduate and head off to college, I pray every day for her safety. I watched Bella and her friends all week and I can’t imagine what Riley’s family and friends are feeling. I’m sharing a picture of Riley’s missing person’s poster and some of Bella’s amazing friends who I was lucky enough to share a week with. It’s just really hard to be a mom and not have a broken heart for a boy who is loved by so many. Please pray and keep Riley’s story circulating. 💙🙏
