A body found in the Illinois River near Peru, Illinois on Sept. 4 has been confirmed to be missing 25-year-old Illinois State University grad student Jelani Day.

The body was identified using dental records and DNA testing and comparison.

The cause of death is currently unknown.

Day bad been reported missing on Aug. 25.

Day’s brother D’Andre Day, an Eastern graduate student studying sports administration, described his brother as an amazing person, smart, athletic and ambitious in a previous interview with The Daily Eastern News regarding his brother’s disappearance. He said his brother had big dreams, one of them being becoming a speech pathologist.

“The reason why he wanted to become a speech pathologist was because when he grew up he had a friend that had problems with talking, people would make fun of him and (Jelani) didn’t like that people were mocking his friend,” D’Andre Day said. “He wanted to be able to help out so another child wouldn’t feel left out or neglected or feel pushed aside because of their disability.”

The LaSalle County Coroner will continue investigating and perform a toxicology test to determine a cause of death.

Corryn Brock can be reached at 581-2812 or at [email protected].