The body found in the Illinois River on Sept. 4 has been identified as missing Illinois State University graduate student Jelani Day, authorities confirmed Thursday.
“Our hearts are broken,” Day’s family said in a statement. “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.”
The LaSalle County Coroner said the cause of death is currently unknown, pending further investigation and toxicology testing.
Day was reported missing on Aug. 25 after he didn’t show up for class for several days.
