{"id":537039,"date":"2026-03-21T16:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/537039\/"},"modified":"2026-03-21T16:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T16:39:09","slug":"alabama-student-reportedly-fell-to-his-death-in-barcelona-waters-by-accident-alabama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/537039\/","title":{"rendered":"Alabama student reportedly fell to his death in Barcelona waters by accident | Alabama"},"content":{"rendered":"

A University of Alabama<\/a> student who was found dead<\/a> in Barcelona<\/a> after going missing while vacationing evidently fell into the sea on accident in view of surveillance cameras \u2013 and an autopsy revealed injuries on his body that were consistent with having repeatedly struck a breakwater\u2019s rocks.<\/p>\n

Such details about James \u201cJimmy\u201d Gracey surfaced in the Spanish media as a spokesperson for police in Barcelona<\/a> told the Associated Press that \u201call signs point\u201d to the 20-year-old\u2019s death as having been inadvertent.<\/p>\n

Gracey was last seen outside the Shoko nightclub at about 3am on Tuesday. The native of suburban Chicago<\/a> raised alarm when he did not return to a short-term rental where he was staying with friends who accompanied him on their spring break to the Catalan region\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n

And, in a development that generated international news headlines, his corpse ultimately was recovered Thursday afternoon in 13ft deep waters off a beach near the Shoko club.<\/p>\n

Spain\u2019s El Pa\u00eds<\/a> newspaper, citing police sources, reported on Friday that local surveillance cameras captured video of Gracey walking by himself toward a dock and falling into the water \u201cwithout third-party involvement\u201d.<\/p>\n

El Peri\u00f3dico<\/a>, another outlet, added on Friday that a preliminary autopsy report filed in court in Barcelona \u201crules out foul play and supports the police hypothesis that [Gracey] accidentally fell into the sea and drowned\u201d. Furthermore, the autopsy report documented \u201cseveral injuries consistent with hitting the rocks of a breakwater\u201d, according to Barcelona-based El Peri\u00f3dico, which also wrote that toxicology test results were pending.<\/p>\n

The outlets\u2019 reports contained details about the two-day search for Gracey. At one point, El Pa\u00eds reported, Barcelona police found Gracey\u2019s cellphone in the possession of a thief known to officers. But it was unclear whether Gracey lost the device or if it was stolen from him, and investigators ruled out its having anything to do with the subsequent fall into the sea, according to El Pa\u00eds.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, El Peri\u00f3dico reported that police narrowed their search for Gracey after finding his wallet and some clothes. The outlet also reported that Gracey\u2019s parents had traveled to Barcelona, and his body would be released to his family for repatriation and burial after the completion of the toxicology tests.<\/p>\n

James \u2018Jimmy\u2019 Gracey. Photograph: Gracey Family via AP<\/p>\n

A statement from Gracey\u2019s family members asked for prayers and privacy as they struggle \u201cto come to terms with this unimaginable loss\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur family is heartbroken,\u201d the statement also said. \u201cJimmy was a deeply loved son, grandson, brother, nephew, cousin and friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barcelona draws millions of foreign tourists annually. It is considered generally safe, especially compared with major cities in the US, which has significantly higher rates of deadly gun violence than other high-income nations.<\/p>\n

The Mediterranean beaches in Barcelona are within walking distance of its bustling city center and frequently draw young visitors. When he went missing, Gracey had gone out to a stretch of beach lined with restaurants and nightclubs that are popular with both locals and visitors.<\/p>\n

Before police confirmed Gracey\u2019s death, his aunt described him in an interview with the AP as \u201cjust a great kid, a good Catholic boy\u201d from the US\u2019s midwest.<\/p>\n

A statement from the University of Alabama<\/a> said its community was \u201cheartbroken\u201d upon learning of Gracey\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

\u201cJimmy\u2019s loss is deeply felt across our campus,\u201d the university\u2019s statement said. \u201cOur condolences are with the Gracey family during this devastating time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Associated Press contributed reporting<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A University of Alabama student who was found dead in Barcelona after going missing while vacationing evidently fell…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[23,3,21,19,22,20,25,24],"class_list":["post-537039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-america","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}