Nothing short of a miracle.
Obviously the tragic death of Riley Strain is still fresh on the minds of everybody in Nashville, after the 21-year old University of Missouri student went missing after a night of drinking on Broadway before his body was tragically pulled from the Cumberland River two weeks later.
Strain’s death has brought renewed calls to improve the safety of downtown Nashville for tourists, including changes along the river to prevent tourists who are unfamiliar with the city from accidentally ending up in the water.
And it looks like it happened again last night – although this time, with a happy ending.
Overnight, Metro Nashville Police announced they were searching for 33-year old New Jersey woman Alexandria Chmiel, who had become separated from her group after a night of partying on Broadway.
Photos released by MNPD showed Chmiel crossing the same intersection as Strain did as he walked towards the river, and her last known location was eerily close to where Strain was last seen.
Officers are searching around the riverbank at 1st & Woodland for Alexandria Chmiel, 33, who is visiting from NJ. She became separated from her friend at 3rd & Broadway before 2 a.m. & was reported missing at 3:42 a.m. She is last seen on downtown cameras at 1st & Woodland. pic.twitter.com/F8xXTSdw7v
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) July 25, 2024
Search crews combed the riverbank in what I’m sure was a reminder of their previous search just months ago. But this morning, miraculously, Chmiel was found alive.
BREAKING: Allie Chmiel has emerged from the riverbank and is talking with our investigate team. pic.twitter.com/u2v3CCzVB6
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) July 25, 2024
An MNPD sergeant said that Chmiel told them she doesn’t know how she ended up in the river, but that there was no evidence at this point that she had been drugged or overserved.
Sergeant Bob Neilsen with Metro Police gave us a quick update after they found the missing woman identified as Allie Chmiel from New Jersey.
He said in his two decades of working as an officer he’s never seen something quite like this saying he looks at it as “if she was… pic.twitter.com/LfMw82tIfN
— Madeleine Nolan (@MaddieNolanTV) July 25, 2024
Chmiel has been taken to the hospital to get checked out, but photos and video from the scene show her standing and talking to police before being loaded onto a gurney.
JUST IN: Alexandria Chmiel has been located. She appeared along the riverbank during @peytonTVkennedy's live shot. https://t.co/H5Fa7v3M2q https://t.co/YbypAllBop pic.twitter.com/IOiLNqyMhq
— WKRN News 2 (@WKRN) July 25, 2024
It’s nothing short of a miracle that she survived if, as it sounds like, she did end up in the river at some point. But it’s also sure to put even more pressure on the city to address the dangerous conditions near downtown Nashville, now that two tourists have somehow ended up in the Cumberland River near the same spot in just a handful of months.
Back in May, the city council passed a resolution requesting the Metro Government do an analysis of recommended changes to help improve safety along the river.
Obviously we don’t know Chmiel’s side of the story yet (if she ever even remembers how she ended up there), but there’s no doubt that what she tells investigators will be helpful in trying to figure out why this keeps happening.
For now though, everybody’s just thankful that she’s ok.
