The body of an Illinois State graduate student missing since late August was identified Thursday.
Jelani Day, 25, was last seen Aug. 24 on campus at the school in Normal, Ill., and was reported missing the next day. His car was found Aug. 26 in the city of Peru, about 60 miles north, and a body was pulled from the Illinois River on Sept. 4.
Using DNA testing and dental identification, the LaSalle County coroner identified that body as Day.
Jelani Day is pictured in an undated photo.
Investigators have not determined Day’s cause of death. His wallet was found Sept. 2, also near Peru and next to a lanyard belonging to a different Illinois State student.
“There are no words to clearly communicate our devastation,” his family said in a statement to Chicago ABC affiliate WLS. “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.”
Carmen Bolden Day, Jelani’s mother, said she was frustrated by the lack of resources going to her son’s case after witnessing the nationwide fascination with the death of Gabby Petito.
Authors Stephen King and Don Winslow noted that Petito’s death was covered and investigated far more intensely than missing people of color.
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