University Of Alabama Student Missing In Barcelona After Night Out At Club

A University of Alabama student's family is pleading for accusation aft he went missing connected Tuesday, aft a nighttime retired astatine a Barcelona beachfront nine during a sojourn to friends studying abroad.

James Paul Gracey, 20, was past seen astatine Shoko, a nightclub successful Villa Olimpica connected nan formation successful Spain, his parents, Taras and Therese Gracey, said successful a connection to NBC News.

He was wearing a achromatic shirt, acheronian pants, and a concatenation pinch a golden rhinestone cross.

James Paul Gracey.Therese Marren Gracey

Police successful Barcelona said they received a telephone astir a imaginable disappearance of a personification who went missing astir 3 a.m. Tuesday successful nan Port Olímpic area.

"We are conducting nan first checks and person taken a study successful an unfastened investigation," constabulary said.

His aunt, Beth Marren O’Reilly, told NBC News that his "parents sewage a telephone telephone that his telephone was picked up, and that’s what drove them to beryllium worried." She said his roommates had not heard from him.

"We don’t cognize a full batch beyond that. At this point, our attraction is really conscionable connected uncovering him," she said.

She said nan ordeal has been "overwhelming" for nan family.

"It’s 1 of those things you deliberation isn’t going to hap to your family but correct now we conscionable really want to get nan connection out, get his image retired location and conscionable request anybody that mightiness person seen him nan different nighttime aliases ran into him and are acrophobic because they were doing thing they shouldn’t have, conscionable please travel forward," she said.

Cavin McLay, inferior and president of nan university’s Theta Chi fraternity, said he recovered retired from a friend that Gracey was missing. He said he was told that Gracey was pinch a group astatine nan nine and they sewage separated, "and that was nan past clip they saw him."

"My bosom sank to my stomach. It’s decidedly not a bully matter to aftermath up to," he said.

The group that Gracey was retired pinch did not person immoderate encounters that made them worried for their information earlier his disappearance, according to nan McLay.

"First thoughts were, hopefully he conscionable mislaid his telephone and tried making his measurement backmost connected his own," he told NBC News.

McLay said astir 10 group are successful Barcelona correct now, visiting a fewer fraternity members who are studying abroad. McLay said he is not staying pinch nan aforesaid group of friends arsenic Gracey.

Gracey, a inferior accounting awesome from nan Chicago suburb of Elmhurst, was connected a "personal trip" erstwhile he vanished, a assemblage spokesperson said successful a statement.

"UA unit are successful touch pinch nan family and those associated pinch them to connection support and assistance successful immoderate measurement possible," nan spokesperson said.