25 year old missing grad student Jelani Day’s body was found in the Illinois River on September 4th.

Jelani had been missing since August 24th and was last seen in a Beyond / Hello cannabis dispensary chain store. His family had been looking for him after not being able to reach him on the night of August 23rd. Police located his car in a wooded area with the clothing he was last seen in inside.

A week later on September 4th police discovered an unidentified body while conducting an organized search. Dental records and DNA analysis was used to identify the body. Bloomington police have announced that the circumstances that Day went missing are unexplainable and suspicious.

The Jelani Day case reached new prominence after his family called for authorities to show attention to his case. They called for the same urgency that was given to the case of missing 22 year old Gabby Petito who has now been found dead. These cases have sparked discourse and online discussions about the racial disparity in which missing persons cases receives attention and if that racial disparity even exists.