EXCLUSIVE: FOX NEWS DISCOVERY Spanish officials have informed Fox News Digital that the iconic gold chain and rhinestone cross once worn by Jimmy Gracey remain missing amid the investigation into the 20-year-old’s untimely demise.
The regional Catalan police, known as the Mossos d’Esquadra, confirmed through spokesman Carles Valles that the necklace has not yet been recovered.
Only 24 hours after the University of Alabama junior was discovered in the waters near Port Olimpic—a marina on the Mediterranean coast located a short distance from the popular Shoko nightclub where he and friends had been enjoying the night—authorities ruled Gracey’s death as an accident.
The Gracey family shared an undated photograph of Jimmy wearing a Crimson Tide football jersey. The 20-year-old was last seen during a trip to Barcelona before going missing on March 17.
In a search operation spanning from March 17 to March 19, police recovered Gracey’s phone from an individual linked to a different criminal case. Meanwhile, his wallet, complete with cash, credit cards, and identification, was found adrift in the sea.
Details from the autopsy and toxicology reports have yet to be disclosed.
Jason Pack, a former FBI analyst, said the story of the evidence gathered in the case must be filtered through the lens of the grieving Gracey family.
“Spanish authorities have ruled his death accidental. Surveillance footage reportedly shows him walking alone toward the water. The autopsy points to drowning. And the man arrested with Jimmy’s phone is believed to have simply found it on the street,” Pack told Fox News Digital. “Spanish investigators cleared him of involvement and charged him with illegal possession of stolen property. That explanation seems plausible with the right context — like if the trauma was postmortem.”
Mourners attend a vigil for Jimmy Gracey held at the Theta Chi fraternity at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Gracey died while on spring break in Barcelona, Spain. (Dana Mixer for Fox News Digital)
“What lingers are a few details that haven’t been fully explained publicly,” he said. “Some reports have raised questions about certain forensic language in the preliminary autopsy findings. His wallet came back intact: cash, cards, ID all there … which Spanish police say supports the conclusion he wasn’t targeted.”
“His gold chain, which he’s wearing in the last known photo of him alive, has not been recovered. That may mean nothing. Breakwaters are unforgiving and currents are strong,” he continued. “But families don’t get to grieve cleanly when questions are still lingering. Hopefully, Spanish authorities have already sat down with the Graceys privately and walked them through every detail.”
General view of Shoko nightclub near the Port Olimpic marina in Barcelona, Spain, Thursday, March 19, 2026. (James Breeden for Fox News Digital)
“A family that raised a young man like Jimmy clearly knows something about faith and grace,” he said. “I’m praying they find both in the days ahead.”
Gracey was laid to rest in his hometown of Elmhurst, Ill. on Tuesday.
