{"id":7630,"date":"2026-03-20T18:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T18:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/7630\/"},"modified":"2026-03-20T18:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-20T18:32:11","slug":"cops-make-ruling-on-university-of-alabama-student-james-graceys-shocking-barcelona-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/7630\/","title":{"rendered":"Cops make ruling on University of Alabama student James Gracey\u2019s shocking Barcelona death"},"content":{"rendered":"

Foul play<\/a> was likely not a factor in University of Alabama student James Gracey\u2019s shocking death in Barcelona, Spanish authorities said the day after recovering his body<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything points to it being an accidental death,\u201d Mossos d\u2019Esquadra police, who cover the area where Gracey\u2019s body was found Thursday, told The Post.<\/p>\n

Maritime police discovered the 20-year-old Elmhurst, Illinois, native\u2019s \u201clifeless body\u201d in 13-foot-deep water off Port Ol\u00edmpic, near where Gracey was last seen leaving Sh\u00f4ko nightclub around 3 a.m. Tuesday.<\/p>\n

University of Alabama student James Gracey\u2019s \u201clifeless body\u201d was found in 13-foot-deep water off Port Ol\u00edmpic. Family Handout<\/p>\n

The heartbreaking identification came just hours after the remains were recovered at about 6 p.m. local time on Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe relevant arrangements have been made with the victim\u2019s relatives, who are in Barcelona,\u201d the police department wrote in a statement Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gracey\u2019s father had traveled to Spain to assist in the desperate search for his son, which kicked off after the college junior got separated from his friends inside the nightclub and later failed to return to their Airbnb about two miles away in Ronda de Sant Pere.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was last seen alive<\/a>\u00a0by a person who reportedly saw him walking toward the rocky coastline, close to the beachfront club.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Foul play was likely not a factor in University of Alabama student James Gracey\u2019s shocking death in Barcelona, Spanish authorities said the day after recovering his body.\u00a0 AP<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom there, he may have fallen into the sea and drowned,\u201d the witness said, according to the Daily Mail.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Authorities \u2013 who once suspected foul play was involved \u2013 found his wallet<\/a> floating in the waters off Somorrostro beach, which starts a few hundred feet from the nightclub, on Wednesday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On Thursday,\u00a0a Port Ol\u00edmpic worker waved down officers before the body was found,\u00a0Fox News reported.<\/a><\/p>\n

Police officers carry the body of a person found in the waters off the Port of Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, March 19, 2026. AP<\/p>\n

Gracey was last seen alive\u00a0by a person who reportedly saw him walking toward the rocky coastline, close to the beachfront club.\u00a0 Therese Gracey<\/p>\n

Divers jumped into the water with a stretcher before returning with a body bag, which appeared to be full.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A blue screen was erected to shield the body from public view.<\/p>\n

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An autopsy will be carried out on his body, Spanish outlet\u00a0La Vanguardia reported<\/a>, although the final results may take several weeks to be released.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gracey\u2019s family said they have been left heartbroken by his death \u2014 and tributes from his fraternity poured in.<\/p>\n

Authorities \u2013 who once suspected foul play was involved \u2013 found his wallet floating in the waters off Somorrostro beach, which starts a few hundred feet from the nightclub, on Wednesday.\u00a0 REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cJimmy was a deeply loved son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend, and our family is struggling to come to terms with this unimaginable loss,\u201d his devastated family wrote in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here is the latest on missing University of Alabama student James Gracey<\/p>\n

Gracey \u2013 who went by Jimmy, and had traveled to the Spanish city to visit friends who were studying abroad \u2013 was the chaplain of the Alpha Phi Chapter of the Theta Chi Fraternity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He was \u201ca young man of deep faith\u201d with a \u201cgenuine care for others,\u201d its CEO Mike Mayer said,\u00a0WBMA-LD reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Gracey \u2013 who went by Jimmy, and had traveled to the Spanish city to visit friends who were studying abroad \u2013 was the chaplain of the Alpha Phi Chapter of the Theta Chi Fraternity.\u00a0 Gracey Family<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are no words to describe the pain of losing our beloved brother, Jimmy,\u201d Theta Chi Alpha Phi Chapter president Cavin McLay said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was always asking how your day was going and thinking about the people around him.
\u201cHis smile and attitude were infectious and such a light in our chapter. I can say without hesitation that I am a better person for having known him,\u201d McLay said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Gracey was a \u201crole model\u201d and \u201cwarrior of Christ,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Foul play was likely not a factor in University of Alabama student James Gracey\u2019s shocking death in Barcelona,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":7631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[5659,1956,8,9,2399,7,5661,1250],"class_list":{"0":"post-7630","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-stories","8":"tag-barcelona","9":"tag-deaths","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-students","13":"tag-top-stories","14":"tag-university-of-alabama","15":"tag-us-news"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@news\/116262937735135367","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}