The body of James “Jimmy” Gracey, a 20-year-old University of Alabama student who vanished during a spring break trip to Barcelona, was recovered from the waters off a city beach on Thursday evening. Gracey, from Elmhurst, Illinois, had been missing since the early morning hours of Tuesday, March 17, sparking an intensive multinational search that gripped his family, friends, and university community.
According to Fox News Digital, police recovered Gracey’s body in the marina between a sailboat and a floating blue dock at approximately 7:15 p.m. local time on Thursday. The Catalan regional police force, Mossos d’Esquadra, had deployed aerial, maritime, motorcycle, and subaquatic units in the days-long search. Divers involved in the effort told the outlet that underwater visibility was roughly 40 centimeters — about 16 inches — severely hampering recovery operations.
Gracey was last seen around 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday outside the Shoko nightclub near Port OlÃmpic in Barcelona, CNN reported. He had been wearing a white shirt, dark pants, and a chain with a gold rhinestone cross. The junior in Alabama’s honors accounting program had arrived in Barcelona just the day before, visiting friends who were studying abroad in the Spanish city.
Cavin McLay, a junior and president of the University of Alabama’s Theta Chi fraternity, told NBC News that Gracey was part of a group at the nightclub that night and that they became separated before his disappearance. About 10 members of the fraternity group were in Barcelona at the time, visiting fellow members who were studying abroad. Gracey held the positions of chaplain and philanthropy chairman within the Theta Chi chapter, according to McLay.
After the nightclub visit, Gracey failed to return to his short-term rental on Ronda de Sant Pere. His absence quickly raised alarm among his travel companions and family back in the United States. His father, Taras Gracey, traveled to Barcelona to assist in the search, according to ABC News.
Early in the investigation, Gracey’s wallet was found floating in the sea, as reported by Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia and El Periódico. Police also recovered his phone, which his mother said had been stolen by a third party. These discoveries near the waterfront intensified fears about what may have happened to the young man in the hours after he left the nightclub.
Shoko Nightclub confirmed to CBS News Chicago that it provided security video from the night Gracey was last seen to local law enforcement. The footage became a critical piece of evidence as investigators attempted to reconstruct his movements. Despite the troubling circumstances surrounding his phone, Barcelona police stated that everything points to Gracey’s death being an accident rather than a criminal act.
Gracey was described by his family as approximately 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighing 175 pounds. He was the eldest of five children, according to his uncle David Gracey, a CNN senior producer based in Washington, D.C. His aunt, Beth Marren O’Reilly, described him as a dedicated student in Alabama’s honors accounting program.
Before enrolling at the University of Alabama, Gracey graduated from Saint Ignatius College Prep on Chicago’s Near West Side. Those who knew him described a young man deeply involved in his academic and fraternity life, making his sudden death all the more devastating to the tight-knit communities he belonged to.
The University of Alabama issued a statement saying staff were in direct communication with the Gracey family to offer support and assistance, PBS News reported. The university did not elaborate on whether additional counseling resources would be made available to students affected by the tragedy.Barcelona police stated that everything points to Gracey’s death being an accident rather than a criminal act. The Mossos d’Esquadra continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding his final hours.
