When 25-year-old graduate student failed to come home on a routine August day, his family immediately knew something was wrong. His family filed a missing persons report and Jelani’s vehicle was found an hour away from where he was last seen, abandoned on a dead-end street. More than a week went by before a badly decomposed body was found in a nearby river, but it took nearly three weeks for the remains to be identified as Jelani Day. Investigators immediately believed that Jelani took his own life but his friends and family have never believed that to be the case and instead believe Jelani to be the victim of foul play.
Five years after his death, Jelani’s family created the Jelani Day Foundation which offers support to the families of missing persons of color and honors Jelani’s life and legacy while continuing to keep his case in the public eye.
Sources:
https://www.kcra.com/article/help-me-find-justice-questions-outweigh-answers-in-the-case-of-jelani-day/38081079
https://will.illinois.edu/21stshow/story/turning-pain-into-purpose-jelani-days-family-talks-foundation-four-years-after-his-death
jelanidayfoundation.org