MYSTERY surrounds the timeline of events leading up to the vanishing of a 20-year-old American university student in Spain.
James ‘Jimmy’ Gracey has not been seen since leaving a beachfront nightclub in Barcelona in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The investigation by the Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan regional police force, has rapidly escalated into a major search operation involving specialist maritime units following the grim discovery of his wallet in the sea.
With conflicting reports emerging and fears of foul play mounting, here is a chronological breakdown of what we know so far about the disappearance of the University of Alabama student.
- Monday morning, March 16: The accounting junior arrives in the Catalan capital from Amsterdam to spend his spring break visiting friends who are studying abroad.
- Monday night: The student and a large group of friends head out for the evening to Shoko, a popular beachfront nightclub in the Port Olimpic area.
- Tuesday, March 17, approximately 3am: He becomes separated from his group and his friend leaves the venue, but CCTV footage reportedly shows him leaving the club shortly after accompanied by an unidentified person.
- Tuesday morning: Panic sets in among his peers and family when he fails to return to his rented Airbnb accommodation on Ronda de Sant Pere.
- Wednesday, March 18: Authorities confirm they have recovered his mobile phone after it was found on an individual who was arrested for an unrelated matter, prompting his father to fly to Spain to join the search.
- Thursday, March 19: The search drastically escalates as police deploy drones, helicopters, the Unidad Acuatica surface patrol, and Unidad Subacuatica divers to scour the coastline.
- Thursday morning: In a devastating update, authorities confirm the missing tourist’s wallet has been found floating in the Mediterranean Sea near Somorrostro beach, just a short distance from the nightclub.
- Thursday afternoon: The desperate family continues to plead for anyone with information to contact emergency services on 112 or the direct police line on 088.
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