A New Jersey woman who went missing in Nashville near where University of Missouri student Riley Strain disappeared this spring surprised search crews when she emerged from the banks of the Cumberland River, shoeless and looking dazed, police and local media reported.
The Metro Nashville Police Department launched an extensive search Thursday after Alexandria Chmiel, 33, became separated from a friend around 2 a.m. and was reported missing at 3:42 a.m.
She was last seen on downtown cameras near the Woodland Street bridge and First Avenue, near where Strain, 22, was last seen after he was drinking with friends on March 8, WKRN reported.
Strain's body was found in the Cumberland River in April, and his death was ruled accidental.
Officers involved in the search for Chmiel, using a helicopter and a drone, found a shoe and a trail of blood earlier Thursday, the station reported.
Around 9 a.m. Chmiel emerged from the riverbank and told officers she didn't know how she got there.
The Nashville Fire Department said she was taken to the hospital for treatment.
"The best news we could've had!! The missing person has been located! NFD crews are assessing her on scene and preparing to transport her to the hospital," the department said in a posting on X that showed Chmiel on a stretcher.
