Jelani Day's Mother 'Pissed' At Authorities' Handling Of Son's Disappearance Before His Body Was Found
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A mother outraged over the investigation into her son's disappearance.
Carmen Bolden Day said officials didn't do enough to help find her son, Jelani Day, an Illinois State University student whose body was discovered in the Illinois River earlier this month, more than a week after he went missing.
"To them, Jelani didn't mean anything. There's no effort, there's no push, there's no nothing that was being done about my son," she told CNN. "I did all that legwork. Me and my kids, me and everybody that never knew Jelani, my family, friends, strangers, did all the legwork. My son didn't get any type of help, and I'm pissed, because he didn't deserve this."
Day's mother pointed out the racial disparity in her son's case, noting Jelani's disappearance received nowhere near the attention of Gabby Petito, a White woman who disappeared while touring national parks with her fiancé, and was later found dead near Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.
Bloomington Police said Jelani's case did receive significant attention, and generated tips that helped investigators locate his body.
Jelani was last seen at a cannabis dispensary near campus in Bloomington on Aug. 24. His vehicle was found two days later in a wooded area near the Illinois Valley YMCA in Peru, located about 60 miles north of Bloomington in LaSalle County. His body was found on Sept. 4 in the Illinois River near the Route 251 Bridge in Peru, not far from where his car had been located.
His remains were not positively identified until Thursday, when DNA and dental records confirmed the body was his.