BARCELONA (AP) — Spanish authorities have found the body of missing college student from Illinois.
The body of 20-year-old James “Jimmy” Gracey was found Thursday evening in the water off a Barcelona beach, near where he was last seen outside a nightclub with his friends early Tuesday morning.
He never returned to the room he was renting with friends. Police recovered his phone soon after he went missing. Gracey was a student at the University of Alabama, and was visiting friends in Barcelona for a spring break trip.
Catalan police say that their investigation continues into the cause of death.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
CHICAGO (AP) - Police in Spain searched Thursday for a college student from Illinois reported missing this week after a night out with friends.
Family members said James “Jimmy” Gracey, a 20-year-old student at the University of Alabama, was visiting friends who are studying abroad. Gracey was last seen at a beachfront nightclub in Barcelona along the Mediterranean Sea but separated from friends around 3 a.m. on Tuesday.
Regional Catalan police said Thursday they had found a body in the water at around 6 p.m. local time. Police told The Associated Press that the body was recovered off Barcelona’s Somorrostro beach, near where Gracey was last reported seen.
A team of police divers found the body but it had not been identified, regional police said.
Gracey, who was wearing a white shirt and dark pants and a chain with a gold rhinestone cross, never returned to the room he was renting with friends, according to family members who live in the suburb of Elmhurst, about 19 miles (31 kilometers) west of Chicago.
Beth Marren O’Reilly, who is Gracey’s aunt, said he and his friends arrived in Barcelona on Monday morning to visit a group of University of Alabama friends studying abroad there.
Local authorities notified Gracey’s parents that they had his phone. Originally, the family thought Gracey may have lost his phone or been pickpocketed, but when they reached out to his friends, they learned that Gracey wasn’t with them as of early Tuesday morning.
“You keep thinking that ... you’re going to wake up from this and it’s a terrible nightmare,” O’Reilly said. “You know, you see people say this all the time. You never thought it could be our family. And here we are.”
O’Reilly described him as a “good Catholic boy from the Midwest” and an “amazing older brother” to his four younger siblings. Along with his fraternity commitments, he is in the honors program at Alabama, she said.
“He’s such an all-around good kid,” O’Reilly said. “And that’s why we’re so worried. It’s just, it’s not like him to not be in contact.”
Friends still in the city have begun hanging missing person signs showing Gracey’s photo and details of the last time he was seen.
Barcelona is a popular tourist destination that brings in millions of foreign visitors each year. It is generally safe, especially compared with major U.S. cities, where tourists’ biggest worry are normally pickpockets.
Barcelona’s beaches, located in walking distance of its center, are a main draw especially for young visitors. The area where Gracey went out is a stretch of beach with several restaurants and nightclubs that are frequented by locals and foreigners.
“We are keeping Jimmy and his family at the forefront of our thoughts, and our staff are in direct communication with the family to offer every support and assistance possible,” the University of Alabama said in a statement on Thursday.
Gracey is a member of the Theta Chi fraternity at the school, and the international organization said he holds two positions within the school’s chapter.
“Since learning of his disappearance, the International Fraternity has been in regular communication with federal lawmakers, the University of Alabama, and our chapter members, including those who remain in Barcelona searching tirelessly for Jimmy,” CEO Michael Mayer said.
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O’Connor reported from Springfield, Illinois, and Raza reported from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Associated Press writers Suman Naishadham in Madrid and Joseph Wilson in Barcelona, Spain, contributed to this report.
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