Wallet of lacking Alabama scholar Jimmy Gracey is present in sea off Barcelona as arrest is made amid fears he met foul play

A wallet belonging to a missing American student has been found floating off a beach near where he disappeared during a trip to Spain.

James ‘Jimmy’ Gracey, 20, a junior at the University of Alabama, was holidaying for spring break visiting friends studying abroad in Barcelona.

He was last seen on Tuesday about 3am local time at beachfront nightclub Shôko, according to his mother Therese Gracey.

What happened to Gracey after he was separated from his friends at the club is still unknown, but police found his wallet floating in the water off Somorrostro Beach.

The popular beach is right outside Shôko next to one of two major marinas in central Barcelona, and investigators theorized he may have entered the water.

Police boats and divers were later seen searching the area along with a helicopter and drones, but police said no further clues were found.

Gracey’s Theta Chi fraternity brother Cavin McLay said he wanted to stay longer at Shôko and became separated from the group. He was never seen again.

Mossos d’Esquadra, Catalonia’s police force, said it could not rule out foul play after discovering Gracey left the nightclub with a stranger.

Security camera footage reviewed by police showed him leaving Shôko with another person, but investigators have not yet identified them.

Gracey was seen talking to a young brown-haired American woman at the nightclub, but it was unclear if she was the same person he left with.

A witness also told police they saw a young man walking towards the sea on the beach adjacent to the nightclub.

Police searched the Airbnb where Gracey was staying and interviewed the friends he was sharing the holiday rental with and others he was with that night.

Therese said police found her son’s phone when they arrested someone, but cops had shared very few details with the family.

‘What we’ve put together is that his phone was stolen and the police just happened to pick the guy who stole it up,’ she wrote online.

She claimed that law enforcement had discovered Gracey’s phone ‘when they searched the guy.’

Police have not clarified whether the person who had the phone was arrested in connection with Gracey’s disappearance, or the phone was discovered by chance when he was detained for something else.

How the man got the phone and whether he took it from Gracey or found it, is unclear. 

Therese issued an urgent plea for help in the search for her missing son in a Facebook post.

‘The police have his phone but he never made it back to his Airbnb,’ she wrote, pleading with anyone who may have seen him to contact her.

Gracey was wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants, likely joggers, as well as a gold chain with a rhinestone cross when he disappeared.

Gracey’s father, Taras, has already traveled to Barcelona to search for his son Therese will likely join him soon.

His uncle is David Gracey, a CNN senior producer in Washington, and he is the eldest of Taras and Therese’s five children.

Gracey’s family said it was ‘deeply concerned’ about his since his disappearance, which was out of character for the responsible young man.

‘Jimmy is a kind, responsible, and devoted son and brother. It is completely out of character for him not to check in with family and friends,’ they said in a statement.

‘We are working closely with local authorities and are incredibly grateful for the support we have received. 

‘We ask that you keep Jimmy in your thoughts as we continue to do everything we can to bring him home safely.’

Shôko is a bustling beachfront nightclub along Barcelona’s La Barceloneta seaside neighborhood, known for its Mediterranean views and popular among locals and visitors.

It has been ranked the seventh best nightclub in the world by Nightlife International.

Gracey was staying at an Airbnb on Ronda de Sant Pere, one of the city’s main roads.

The distance from Shôko to his tourist apartment is roughly 3km (1.8 miles). He never made it back from the club, his mother said.

‘We are conducting the initial checks and have taken a report in an open investigation,’ police said.

‘A call was received early yesterday morning, around 1am, reporting a possible disappearance.

‘The disappearance was reported to have occurred on March 17, 2026, at 3am, in the Port Olympic area.’

Shôko said it did not have any additional information about Gracey’s whereabouts.

Gracey was in Amsterdam over the weekend and arrived in Barcelona on Monday morning, according to family members.

He is from the Elmhurst suburb of Chicago, Illinois, but attends the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, where he is part of the Theta Chi fraternity.

McLay said he learned that Gracey was missing from a friend the next morning after Gracey didn’t come back to the Aitbnb.

‘My heart sank to my stomach. It’s definitely not a good text to wake up to,’ he told NBC.

‘First thoughts were, hopefully he just lost his phone and tried making his way back on his own.’

McLay said about 10 people in the group were in Barcelona right now, visiting a few fraternity members who were studying abroad.

He said there was nothing out of the ordinary at the nightclub and no reason for any of the holidaymakers to fear for their safety.

‘It’s tough. We’re doing everything we can to keep our heads up and remain hopeful that we find him safe, but it’s a tough time. And, you know, we’re scared,’ he told WVMTM.

A post from November said Gracey had been elected onto the fraternity’s executive board as a chaplain.

Gracey wrote on LinkedIn that he was looking forward to ‘leading with integrity, promoting a values-based culture and supporting the personal and spiritual growth of the chapter’.

The missing student’s friends rallied to help finding him, handing out flyers on the beach and asking anyone if they had seen him.

The University of Alabama confirmed Gracey was a 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,’ it said.