Jelani Day Foundation hosting gala to support local families with missing loved ones

CHICAGO (WLS) -- This month marks five years since the death of Jelani Day.

The 25-year-old graduate student at Illinois State University went missing on August 24, 2021.

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His body was found weeks later in the Illinois River, but how he died remains a mystery.

In Jelani's honor, his family started the Jelani Day Foundation to support local families with missing loved ones.

Their fourth annual gala is next Saturday, Aug. 22, with Attorney Ben Crump as the keynote speaker.

Jelani's siblings, Dacara Bolden and D'Andre Day, joined ABC7 on Saturday morning to talk about the gala and their continued fight for justice and equity.