Police Announce Major Breakthrough In Search For Alabama Student Who Vanished In Spain

Barcelona police say they have a major new lead in the search for missing University of Alabama student James “Jimmy” Gracey after investigators recovered his wallet floating in the water near Somorrostro beach.

Gracey, 20, of Elmhurst, Illinois, was last seen around 3 a.m. Tuesday, March 17, 2026, after visiting the waterfront Shoko restaurant and nightclub in Barcelona, according to his mother, Therese Gracey. She said her son “was with friends, but they got separated at the end of the night.”

He never made it back to the Airbnb on Ronda de Sant Pere that he rented with friends, family members said. After Gracey failed to return, the group reported him missing around 1 a.m. local time Wednesday, authorities said.

Search teams have since widened their focus along the city’s coastline and nearby marina areas. Sources from local police told Spanish outlet El Periódico that a search was launched at sea Thursday morning with aquatic and underwater units. A drone unit was also deployed, the sources said.

Catalan police with the Mossos d’Esquadra, Barcelona’s regional law enforcement agency, confirmed the marine unit was activated as the effort moved to the water.

“Today the maritime and underwater unit has been activated to search,” police said in a statement.

A local police search in the waters near the nightclub area on Wednesday had “negative results,” a source with knowledge of the investigation told CNN.

In another key development, a family spokesperson said authorities recovered Gracey’s phone during the arrest of a third-party individual. Details about that person have not been released, and it was not immediately clear whether the phone recovery is directly tied to the disappearance beyond establishing a trail of evidence.

The last known photo of Gracey shows him wearing a white T-shirt and a gold chain with a rhinestone cross.

Friends from Alabama’s Theta Chi fraternity, who traveled on the same trip, have described him as a steady presence on campus and inside the chapter. Cavin McLay, the fraternity’s president, said Gracey is the chapter’s chaplain and philanthropy chairman and is known for mentoring younger members.

“I tell him to keep fighting, that we’re not going to give up. We’re going to keep looking for him, and we’re waiting for him to come to us safe,” McLay said.

“Jimmy’s a great guy, upstanding character,” he added. “He serves as a mentor in our chapter to a lot of the younger guys. He is currently our chaplain, so he guides a lot of our brothers on their journey in their faith. we’re heartbroken, but we’re keeping our heads held high and remaining hopeful.”

McLay said he was not with Gracey at the time he went missing, but he was told there was “nothing out of the ordinary, either internally or externally.”

“They’re being very helpful. Local authorities are working with us diligently,” he said. “They’re sending out their search teams everywhere they can, and they’re updating us as often as they possibly can.”

McLay said he has spoken with Gracey’s family, who “just want to extend their thanks and their gratefulness for the community that we have and for everyone sharing the story and getting the awareness out there, and for everyone that’s on the ground here in Barcelona looking for him.”

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