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The body was found on the Somorrostro beach in Barcelona where the missing young man was being sought. EP Catalonia Police in Barcelona find the body of missing American student James Gracey in the seaThe 20-year-old was last seen in the early hours of Tuesday morning in the vicinity of the Shôko nightclub in the city
Friday, 20 March 2026, 14:38
Police in Catalonia have located the body of James "Jimmy" Gracey, a 20-year-old American student from Chicago whose disappearance sparked an intense search in Barcelona this week.
The body was found on Thursday evening at 6.40pm off Somorrostro beach in the city.
The University of Alabama student was in Barcelona enjoying a spring break trip with friends when he went missing in the early hours of Tuesday morning. According to the information available, he had left the nightclub they had gone to in the beach area and did not return with the rest of the group.
From that moment on, an extensive search operation was activated involving land, sea and air units, focusing especially on the area around the Olympic Port, popular with residents and tourists alike.
During the following hours, relatives and friends sent out messages requesting public collaboration, insisting that the disappearance was not in line with his normal behaviour.
Sea search
After finding some of his belongings, including his wallet, investigators focused the operation on the coastline and began to intensify the search at sea. Finally, the body was found in the water near Somorrostro beach, close to where he had last been seen.
The investigation is still open to clarify the circumstances of the death, pending the results of the autopsy and ongoing police investigations.