FBI Offers $10,000 Reward For Information On Death Of Illinois State University Student Jelani Day
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The FBI announced Monday that it is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information on the death of Illinois State University student Jelani Day.
Day's body was discovered in the Illinois River on Sept. 4, more than a week after he went missing. He had last been seen in at cannabis dispensary at Veterans Parkway and General Electric Road near the ISU campus in Bloomington on Aug. 24.
The Jelani Day Joint Task Force – which is composed of the FBI, Illinois State Police, the Illinois Attorney General's office, and several local police departments – announced Monday that is has implemented enhanced measures to identify leads in the investigation into Day's death.
These measures include a coordinated, nationwide social media campaign, and an investigative poster requesting tips, and announcing the $10,000 for anyone who provides substantial information about Day's final hours that leads to the identification of new witnesses or evidence.
The task force asks the public to submit tips to (800) CALL-FBI.
In October, Day's death was ruled a drowning – but only as a diagnosis of exclusion.
The LaSalle County Coroner's office said the examination of Day's body was "suboptimal" given the decomposition his body had undergone, but there was no evidence of any kind of injury he had suffered before his death such as an assault, strangulation, or gunshot wound - and there was also no evidence of significant drug intoxication.
It was not clear how Day ended up in the river. Day's mother, Carmen Bolden Day, said after Day's body was found that officials didn't do enough to help find her son.