Spanish authorities have determined there was no foul play in the death of Jimmy Gracie, a 20-year-old junior from the University of Alabama. Gracie went missing early Tuesday during a spring break trip to Barcelona after spending time at the popular Choco nightclub by the Mediterranean.
His body was found on Thursday in the marina, just a short distance away. A spokesperson for the Catalonia regional police, known as Mossos d’Esquadra, indicated on Friday that “everything suggests this was an accident.”
Gracie, who stood 6 feet 1 inch tall, had traveled with friends from his fraternity, Theta Chi, to visit a classmate studying abroad in Barcelona.
On that fateful Monday night, the group went to Choco, situated by Port Olympique. The last known photo of Gracie shows him inside the club, recognizable by his curly brown hair and a gold chain featuring a rhinestone cross.
Most of the friends left around 3 a.m. Tuesday, but Gracie chose to stay behind. He was reportedly seen conversing with a woman who had brown hair.
When his friends awoke later that morning, Gracie had not yet returned to their Airbnb, which was about 2.4 miles away from the nightclub.
Mossos d’Esquadra became involved after friends notified both his family and local police, which sparked an investigation. Shortly after Gracie’s disappearance, law enforcement recovered his cellphone during the arrest of another individual, but the timeline and details surrounding that were not disclosed. They examined the device for location data, interviewed witnesses, and scrutinized surveillance footage from the nightclub and its surroundings.
As concerns about Gracie grew, his mother, Thérèse Gracie, shared about her son’s disappearance in an expatriate Facebook group, prompting an outpouring of support. His father, Taras Gracie, also traveled to Spain to assist in the search.
On Thursday, divers were deployed by the police along the Mediterranean coastline. Later that evening, a marina employee alerted the authorities after spotting something suspicious in the water. Despite poor visibility, Gracie’s body was successfully retrieved around 7:15 p.m.
The family released a statement expressing their heartbreak over the loss, saying, “Our family is struggling to come to terms with this unimaginable loss.” They described Jimmy as a beloved member of the family.
