An American college student visiting friends in Spain over spring break has gone missing after a night out in Barcelona, and his family is desperately pleading for answers.
James “Jimmy” Gracey, 20, a junior at the University of Alabama, was last seen around 3 a.m. on March 17 outside Shôko Barcelona, a popular beachfront nightclub on Barceloneta Beach, his family said in a statement on Facebook.
“My son is a University of Alabama student who is visiting friends in Barcelona who are studying abroad,” his mother, Therese Marren Gracey, wrote in the post. “They went to Shoko last night. The police have his phone but he didn’t make it back to the Airbnb. Has anyone seen him?”
Police recovered his phone during the arrest of another person, family spokesperson Noreen Heron told Fox News Digital.
Gracey, who is from the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, had traveled to Barcelona for spring break to visit friends studying abroad and the group went to Shôko on Monday night. He was last seen around 3 a.m. local time on Tuesday.
Mossos d’Esquadra, of the Catalan police force, confirmed to CNN that an investigation is underway.
“We are conducting the initial checks and have taken a report in an open investigation,” police said in a statement. “A call was received early yesterday morning, around 1 AM, reporting a possible disappearance. The disappearance was reported to have occurred on March 17, 2026, at 3 AM, in the Port Olímpic area.”
According to his mother, Gracey was last seen wearing a white T-shirt, dark pants – “probably joggers” – and a gold chain with a rhinestone cross.
“He wears a gold chain with a rhinestone cross. He was last seen by his friend at Shoko around 3 a.m. [local time]. The friend was leaving but Jimmy stayed,” she wrote.
He is about 6-foot 1-inch tall and weighs 175 pounds, his family said.
A University of Alabama spokesperson said in a statement, “James Paul Gracey is a UA student on a personal trip. UA staff are in touch with the family and those associated with them to offer support and assistance in any way possible.”
Anyone with information about Gracey’s whereabouts is urged to contact (224) 505-3886.
