A lifeless body was found on the Somorrostro beach in Barcelona, the most emblematic beach in the Catalan capital. The Mossos d'Esquadra found the body of Jimmy Gracey yesterday afternoon, the 20-year-old American who disappeared early Tuesday morning outside the Shoko nightclub, a nightclub located on the promenade, in the Olympic port area just a few meters from the water.
This case has sparked strong media interest and leaves a series of unanswered questions to be resolved in the coming hours - the body was taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences for an autopsy - and throughout the investigation. At the moment, the initial hypotheses currently rule out a criminal death and point towards a possible accident.
From the outset, the incident caught the attention of major American media outlets and television networks, giving voice to Jimmy's family and friends, with minute-by-minute updates and constant live connections to try to find out what happened. The father traveled to Barcelona on Wednesday and was already in the Catalan capital yesterday.
All while the Mossos searched by land, sea, and air for James (Jimmy) Gracey since they received the alert early Tuesday morning. The regional police had found Jimmy's wallet floating in the water in front of Barceloneta. This discovery reinforced the indications that the young man could be in the sea and led the Mossos to focus on this lead with specialized divers in the water despite the rough sea conditions.
Jimmy's disappearance made headlines on television programs in the United States, with FOX dedicating one of its 'breaking news' segments to him.
Jimmy Gracey, a third-year student at the University of Alabama and originally from Elmhurst, was enjoying spring break vacation in Europe, visiting friends. He arrived in Barcelona on Monday morning after a previous stop in Amsterdam and was scheduled to return to the United States on Saturday. That Monday night, he went out partying in the Port Olímpic area and went to the Shoko nightclub, located right next to the Olympic port and under the Mapfre towers. He went there with a friend, from whom he separated at some point during the night as he decided to stay in the club, where he was last seen around 3 a.m.
The Mossos d'Esquadra received the report of his disappearance that same early morning after Jimmy Gracey did not return to the Airbnb accommodation where he was staying with his friend in the city center, on Ronda Sant Pere. The regional police opened an investigation, and one of the main leads was to search the sea area with expert divers from the Corps, which they started doing on Wednesday and continued until the discovery of the body in the delimited area of Somorrostro. A helicopter was even brought in to supervise from the air any trace of the American student.
Simultaneously, the police are analyzing footage from the club and nearby establishments to determine if Jimmy left accompanied from the venue, as some American media outlets suggested.
In fact, the investigation now focuses on determining the causes of death (the hypothesis of drowning is gaining strength) and whether he could have fallen into the water from the nearby jetty. It also remains to be resolved what happened to his mobile phone, found in the beach area in the possession of a repeat offender who is known to frequent the area, as reported by El País. Initial information suggests that he claimed to have found it on the beach.
The case gained attention when his mother, Therese Marren Gracey, made a plea on Facebook shortly after the report was filed, asking for help in locating him. "Has anyone seen him? Please call me or send me a message," she indicated in the post. As detailed in the family's message, Jimmy had dark curly hair, was 1.85 meters tall, weighed 80 kilograms, and that night he was wearing a white shirt, dark pants, and a gold necklace with a cross, information that was distributed along with several photographs before the tragic outcome was known.
"Jimmy is a kind, responsible son and brother who is very close to his family. It is completely out of character for him not to have communicated with his family and friends," emphasized the family in the statement released, requesting the public's collaboration in finding James.
Late last night, after the Mossos confirmed the discovery, the family thanked for the support in a message sent to FOX and expressed their intention to "suspend interviews with the media for now."
The Theta Chi International fraternity, to which the young man belonged, stated in a social media post that the student was one of the philanthropic leaders of the university group.