Body Confirmed To Be Missing IL College Student Jimmy Gracey: Reports

ELMHURST, IL — A body found Thursday in the sea off Barcelona is confirmed to be missing college student James “Jimmy” Gracey, authorities have confirmed to multiple news outlets.

"Everything points to it being an accident, not a criminal act," a police spokesperson told CNN. Gracey's uncle is a producer with the network.

Gracey's body was found during the search for the 20-year-old Elmhurst man, who went missing early Tuesday while visiting friends in Barcelona, according to reports.

Officers found the body "in the water in the Somorrostro area," according to Fox 32 Chicago.

Earlier Thursday, authorities said they found Gracey's wallet floating in the same area near Somorrostro Beach in Barcelona, according to ABC Chicago. The beach is near Shôko, a nightclub in the Olympic Village area where Gracey was last seen.

Gracey's mother said police also have the 20-year-old's phone, which had been stolen, ABC reported.

A spokesperson for the Gracey family told Fox News that the phone was found when police in Spain made an arrest, and that Gracey's father had traveled to Spain to aid in the search.

Gracey was a junior at the University of Alabama and had traveled to Barcelona for spring break to visit friends who are studying abroad, his family said earlier this week.

He was last seen outside the nightclub around 3 a.m. Tuesday, a spokesperson for the family said. Gracey had reportedly gone out with the friends he was visiting on Monday night, but never made it back to his Airbnb.

On Wednesday, a reporter for El Periódico in Barcelona told CBS 42 in Alabama that police have reviewed surveillance footage showing Gracey leaving the club with someone else, leading authorities to believe foul play was a possibility. Police have since said they believe Gracey's death was accidental.

Gracey is a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep. His parents, Taras and Therese Gracey, and four siblings are residents of Elmhurst.

In an interview before his death was confirmed, Gracey's aunt told the Associated Press that he was "just a great kid, a good Catholic boy from the Midwest." The family later expressed gratitude for the outpouring of concern and said in a statement they were taking time to "focus on being together and caring for one another. Thank you for respecting our privacy and holding our family in your thoughts and prayers."