The search for 25-year-old Jelani Day has taken a tragic turn. His body has been identified by the LaSalle County Coroner’s office.
According to NBC Chicago, the Illinois State University graduate student’s body was discovered on Sept. 4 “floating near the south bank of the Illinois River” by a bridge near Peru, Illinois, a little over 100 miles southwest of Chicago. Although his cause of death has not been determined, police are investigating and suspect foul play.
As previously reported, Jelani went missing on Aug. 24, and after he failed to attend classes, his grad professor and family filed a missing person report on Aug. 25. His vehicle was discovered two days later, near where his body was recovered. However, the location was not near where he was last seen alive.
Upon confirming Jelani’s identity, his family issued a statement.
“Our hearts are broken. We ask that you continue to pray for our family during what will be very hard days ahead. Throughout these 30 days, our very first concern was finding Jelani, and now we need to find out #WhatHappenedToJelaniDay. At this moment, there are more questions than answers surrounding Jelani’s disappearance and death, and that is where we will focus our energy. As of this moment, we do not know what happened to Jelani, and we will not stop until we do.”
Initially, the coroner told the family that it would take weeks to identify the body, but the family gave DNA to assist the medical examiner with the process.
“We’ve given them DNA so they can identify the body,” Jelani’s mother, Carmen Bolden Day, told NBC Chicago earlier this week. “However, what I was told that the crime lab does not have the solution that they need to process the DNA.”
Before Jelani disappeared, the future doctor was caught on video inside of a dispensary in Bloomington.
The man’s family lambasted police claiming that Jelani’s investigation didn’t get the attention it deserved because he was Black.
The 25-year-old’s family also gave an official statement asking people to come forward with information regarding his disappearance.
“There are no words to clearly communicate our devastation. We learned this morning from the LaSalle County Coroner, the deceased man found in Peru, IL, on Saturday, Sept. 4, is Jelani. Our hearts are broken.
We ask that you continue to pray for our family during what will be very hard days ahead. Throughout these 30 days, our very first concern was finding Jelani, and now we need to find out #WhatHappenedToJelaniDay
At this moment, there are more questions than answers surrounding Jelani’s disappearance and death, and that is where we will focus our energy. As of this moment, we do not know what happened to Jelani, and we will not stop until we do.
This week we learned new evidence has been discovered, and police are working on new leads related to Jelani’s disappearance. This case is not closed, and the investigation is not over.
We STILL need people who have information to come forward. If you know anything about what happened to Jelani or had contact with Jelani in the days and weeks before his disappearance, please contact Bloomington Police Detective Paul Jones at (309)434-2548 or email him at pjones@cityblm.org.
We have also hired JAB Professional Services to assist the police. Information regarding Jelani’s disappearance can be emailed/texted to Beliveaups@yahoo.com 618-223-0044 (C). The family is offering a $25,000+ cash reward. https://gofund.me/8ee08e46
Thank you to every single person who has thought about, prayed for, talked about, and searched for Jelani. The love you’ve shown our family has sustained us, and we will definitely need you even more in the days to come. We love each and every one of you for making Jelani’s story personal.
We will continue to share updates on Jelani’s case as information becomes available.”
Our condolences to his family.
