Police investigating disappearance of Illinois State University student

Police in central Illinois say they are investigating the disappearance of an Illinois State University graduate student nearly a month after he went missing.

“As of 9/20/2021, the Bloomington Police Department is still investigating and seeking leads in regards to missing person Jelani ‘JJ’ Day,” Bloomington Police Department (BPD) said in a statement on Monday, according to Fox affiliate WFLD.

“Currently, BPD detectives are still sorting through tips, and are still actively investigating the case,” the police department added.

The Hill has reached out to the police department for more information.

Jelani Day, 25, was reported missing by his family and a school faculty member after being last seen in public on Aug. 24 after missing several days of classes, according to the Fox affiliate. 

Authorities found Day’s vehicle two days later during their search, finding the same clothes he was wearing when he was last seen.

Authorities also discovered an unidentified body in the area where his car was last seen, with the LaSalle County Coroner office saying that DNA results are still pending, WFLD reported. 

Day’s mother, Carmen Bolden-Day, urged the FBI to help investigate her son’s disappearance, saying that “crucial time” is passing. 

“I am not in denial and I am not delusional, and since we don’t know if that is Jelani, I need you to be looking for Jelani,” Bolden-Day told WFLD, referring to the recovered body.

She also complained that the case isn’t receiving the same level of attention as that of 22-year-old Gabby Petito, who was reported missing earlier this month while on a road trip with her fiancé.

The FBI confirmed this week that Petito’s body was recovered from a national park in Wyoming.

“The treatment they are giving to this young white girl isn’t the same treatment they are giving to my young Black son, and I am angry about it and I want that same treatment for my son,” she said.