The family of a University of Alabama student is appealing for information after he went missing Tuesday, after a night out at a Barcelona beachfront club while visiting study abroad friends.
James Paul Gracie, 20, was last seen at Shoko, a nightclub in the Spanish seaside resort of Villa Olimpica, his parents, Taras and Therese Gracie, told NBC News in a statement.
He wore a white shirt, black pants and a gold rhinestone cross chain.
Barcelona police said they received a call about the possible disappearance of a missing person at around 3am on Tuesday in the Port Olympic area.
“We are conducting a preliminary inspection and have taken the report into open investigation,” the police said.
His aunt, Beth Marren O’Reilly, told NBC News that “the parents got a phone call saying his phone had been picked up and it made them worry.” She said his roommates never heard from him.
“We don’t know a lot beyond that. At this point, our focus is really just on finding him,” he said.
He said the ordeal was “overwhelming” for the family.
“It’s one of those things where you think it’s not going to happen to your family but right now we really want to get the word out, get his picture out there and beg anyone who saw him the other night or ran into him and is scared because he’s doing something they shouldn’t be doing, to please come forward,” she said.
Kevin McClay, a junior and president of the university’s Theta Chi fraternity, learned from a friend that Gracie was missing. Gracie was with a group at the club and they split up, he said, “and that was the last time she saw him.”
“My heart sank into my stomach. It was definitely not a good text to wake up to,” she said.
According to Maclay, the group Gracie was out with had no encounters that made her concerned for her safety before her disappearance.
“The first thoughts were, hopefully they lost their phone and tried to get back on their own,” he told NBC News.
About 10 people are in Barcelona right now, visiting some fraternity members who are studying abroad, McClay said. Maclay said he wasn’t staying with the same group of friends as Gracie.
Gracie, a junior accounting major from the Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, disappeared while on a “personal trip,” a university spokeswoman said in a statement.
“UA staff are in contact with the family and those involved are available to offer support and assistance in any way possible,” the spokesperson said.
