Mossos d'Esquadra have located the body of 20-year-old University of Alabama student Jimmy Gracey, missing since early Tuesday near Shoko nightclub in Barcelona's Port Olímpic. The lifeless body was found at four meters depth on Somorrostro beach, following an intensified sea search prompted by his floating wallet.
Following the intensive search launched after Jimmy Gracey was last seen around 3:00 a.m. on March 17 at Shoko nightclub in Vila Olímpica—where he had been partying during spring break—the Mossos' subaquatic and maritime units, supported by helicopter, discovered his body Thursday afternoon around 18:00 on Somorrostro beach near the club. The third-year accounting student from Elmhurst near Chicago, 1.85m tall with curly dark hair, had not returned to his central Barcelona Airbnb. His wallet was found floating near Barceloneta or Puerto Olímpico, shifting focus to the sea. Guardia Urbana recovered his phone from a habitual beach thief, who was charged but whose involvement is downplayed, with no criminal motive suspected. Gracey, eldest of five siblings, Theta Chi fraternity member, and part-time worker, was due to fly home Saturday. His mother Therese Marren Gracey had appealed on Facebook, and his lawyer father traveled to Barcelona. US media has covered the case, which recalls the 2022 unresolved disappearance of British rugby player Levi Davis in the city. Forensics will confirm identity and cause of death.