On Thursday September 23, 2021, the LaSalle County Coroner identified the male body found on September, 4, 2021 as Jelani Day, 25, of Bloomington, Illinois through forensic dental identification and DNA testing and comparison. Currently the cause of death is unknown, pending further investigation, and toxicology testing.
BPD Officer John Fermon says what he can about the investigation:
Fermon says the invesigation continues:
Fermon is asked when the FBI got involved:
A reporter askes Fermon if the case of Jelani Day could be linked to another missing man in Arizona under very similar circumstances:
Jelani Day was reported missing on August 25, 2021. Family reported that they had last spoken with him in the evening hours of Monday August 23, 2021. Jelani was seen at the Illinois State University campus on August 24, 2021, and his last known location was at Beyond Hello in Bloomington, Tuesday morning, at 9:21am.
On Thursday August 26, 2021, Jelani’s vehicle was located in Peru, Illinois. Based on findings by the Peru Police Department when recovering the vehicle, a command post was established and an extensive K9 search was conducted by the Illinois State Police, drone aerial searches by Peru Fire and Utica Fire as well as a ground search by teams from Peru, Utica, and Oglesby. Subsequent searches were conducted in the Peru area and Jelani was not located.
On September 4, 2021, an additional search was conducted in the LaSalle Peru area by members of the Illinois Search and Rescue Council along with other search agencies in the area. During the search a male decedent was recovered floating near the south bank of the Illinois River approximately ¼ mile east of the Illinois Rt. 251 Bridge.
Anyone with any information please contact the LaSalle County Sheriff’s Office at 815-433-2161.
Included in the investigation are the Bloomington Police Department, Illinois State University Police Department, Peru Police Department, Illinois Emergency Management Agency, LaSalle County Sheriff’s and Coroner’s Office, LaSalle County State’s Attorney Office, LaSalle Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Springfield Division, and the Illinois State Police.
