Mother of Jelani Day still searches for answers 1 year after son's death

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WAND) - The family of Jelani Day still search for answers one year after his mysterious disappearance and death.

Day's death is still labeled as a death investigation, but no one has been arrested. His mother, Carmen Bolden-Day, is still fighting for answers.

"For them to convey to me that he disappeared off the face of the Earth and the next time you found him was in some water, it don't make sense," Bolden-Day told WEEK News.

The 25-year-old was last seen on video surveillance Aug. 24, 2021 at Beyond/Hello in Bloomington. He was reported missing Wednesday Aug. 25, under what police described as unknown circumstances by his family and an ISU faculty member.

According to officials, on Thursday, Aug. 26, officers of the Peru Police Department responded to a report of a vehicle in the wooded area south of the Illinois Valley YMCA. Police described it as concealed in the wooded area. They later confirmed it was Day's.

On Sept. 5, authorities located an unidentifiable body along the Illinois River in Peru. Day's family held out hope it was not the soon-to-be doctor's body.

"I just want my brother back. I need my brother back. All my siblings are part of me. So, not having Jelani here, It's like I'm missing a part of myself," his sister, Zena Day, told WAND News on Sept. 20.

On Sept. 23, the LaSalle County Coroner confirmed the body found in the Illinois River earlier in the month was Jelani Day. The coroner ruled the cause of his death to be drowning.

The ruling of Day's death and the circumstances that led up to it has not set well with his family. His car was found more than two miles from where his clothes were found. Family, Rev. Jesse Jackson and the Rainbow PUSH Coalition held marches and rallies in Peru and Bloomington asking local law enforcement to turn the investigation over to federal investigators.

While Day's family is not stopping their push for answers, they have also taken their pain and turned it into purpose. Bolden-Day said they have created the Jelani Day Foundation. She said it will support families of missing minorities.

"I didn't want another mother to have to sit in my seat and suffer like this," she said.

The foundation will launch this weekend at ISU's Bone Student Center. Bolden-Day said hundreds of people are expected to attend.

"I just want to be able to pay it forward and I want to do it by honoring my son."

In May 2022, the Jelani Day Law was signed by Governor JB Pritzker. The new law requires a coroner or medical examiner who has custody of human remains not identified within 72 hours of discovery to immediately notify the Federal Bureau of Investigation for assistance.