An American student’s heartbroken girlfriend has mourned his ‘devoted, and selfless soul’ after he was found dead on a trip to Spain.

James ‘Jimmy’ Gracey, 20, a junior at the University of Alabama, was holidaying for spring break and visiting friends studying abroad in Barcelona.

He never made it home from beachfront nightclub Shôko after being separated from his friends about 3am on Wednesday, and disappeared.

Gracey’s body was found by police divers in about 12ft of water along a breakwater nearby about 6pm on Thursday, and his death ruled an accidental drowning.

Kenna Cohen, 21, who dated Gracey for the last six months of his life, gave a heartbreaking tribute to the hockey star after his death was confirmed.

‘Forever in debt for having been lucky enough to be loved by the most pure-hearted, sweet, devoted, and selfless soul,’ she said.

‘I so badly wish I could rewind time, but I am so grateful I was able to witness the last six months of your incredible life.

‘James Paul Gracey, you truly were a blessing, and every moment I spent with you felt nothing less than that.

Kenna Cohen, 21, who dated Jimmy Gracey, 20, for the last six months of his life before he drowned on a trip to Barcelona on Wednesday, at her Phi Mu sorority graduation ball in November
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Kenna Cohen, 21, who dated Jimmy Gracey, 20, for the last six months of his life before he drowned on a trip to Barcelona on Wednesday, at her Phi Mu sorority graduation ball in November

Cohen, a junior at the University of Georgia, gave a heartbreaking tribute to the hockey star after his death was confirmed
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Cohen, a junior at the University of Georgia, gave a heartbreaking tribute to the hockey star after his death was confirmed

Gracey never made it home from beachfront nightclub Shôko after being separated from his friends about 3am on Wednesday, and disappeared (pictured at the club that night)
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Gracey never made it home from beachfront nightclub Shôko after being separated from his friends about 3am on Wednesday, and disappeared (pictured at the club that night)

‘Please continue to pray for the Gracey family and keep Jimmy’s memory close to your hearts.

‘Fly high, my angel.’

Cohen earlier posted a picture of a framed photo of the couple on her Instagram, with a desperate plea for help to find him.

The photo had the famous Bible verse about love from 1 Corinthians written next to their faces: ‘It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.’

‘Missing your face extra today,’ she wrote on Thursday’s Instagram story.

‘Jimmy is truly one of a kind, no one has ever made me feel so loved – please keep sharing and reposting info.’

Cohen grew up in Atlanta and is a junior at the University of Georgia where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in human development.

She is a member of the Phi Mu sorority and works part time as a travel fashion sales representative at AFA Staffing.

Gracey is from the Elmhurst suburb of Chicago, Illinois, but attends the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.

Cohen earlier posted a pictured of a framed photo of the couple on her Instagram, with a desperate plea for help to find him
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Cohen earlier posted a pictured of a framed photo of the couple on her Instagram, with a desperate plea for help to find him

The couple put their school's intense rivalries aside to attend the SEC Championship college football game on December 6 with Cohen's friends
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The couple put their school’s intense rivalries aside to attend the SEC Championship college football game on December 6 with Cohen’s friends

Later that month they posed in front of a Christmas tree during the holiday break
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Later that month they posed in front of a Christmas tree during the holiday break

Cohen and Gracey first appeared together at her Phi Mu graduation ball in November, a week before her 21st birthday.

A few weeks later they put their school’s intense rivalries aside to attend the SEC Championship college football game on December 6 with Cohen’s friends.

Cohen’s team got the better of her boyfriend’s, winning in a 28-7 rout.

Later that month they posed in front of a Christmas tree during the holiday break.

Cohen didn’t join Gracey on his trip to Barcelona as it was a boys’ trip to visit members of their Theta Chi fraternity who were studying abroad.

Gracey was initially feared to have met with foul play after leaving Shôko with an unidentified stranger, but police confirmed on Friday his death was accidental.

Security footage showed him leave the nightclub alone and walk across Somorrostro Beach towards rocks and fall into the water, police told the Daily Mail.

Investigators at Mossos d’Esquadra, the Catalan regional police force, recovered the footage from the security cameras near the nightclub.

The discovery dispels rumors that Gracey may have left with someone else who could have seen what happened before he fell off rocks into the sea, the police source said.

Gracey was initially feared to have met with foul play after leaving Shôko with an unidentified stranger, but police confirmed on Friday his death was accidental
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Gracey was initially feared to have met with foul play after leaving Shôko with an unidentified stranger, but police confirmed on Friday his death was accidental

Cohen grew up in Atlanta and is a junior at the University of Georgia where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in human development
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Cohen grew up in Atlanta and is a junior at the University of Georgia where she is pursuing a Bachelor of Science in human development

Police said that when he left the nightclub after drinking, he walked towards some rocks (circled) that stuck out of the nearby beach and fell into the sea
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Police said that when he left the nightclub after drinking, he walked towards some rocks (circled) that stuck out of the nearby beach and fell into the sea

Police boats and divers were later seen searching the area along with a helicopter and drones, but officers said no further clues were found
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Police boats and divers were later seen searching the area along with a helicopter and drones, but officers said no further clues were found

Investigators said the video footage also allowed them to conclude that he fell into the sea accidentally and was not pushed, they added.

Gracey’s preliminary autopsy report recorded an initial finding of accidental death, a Spanish judicial source told the Daily Mail.

The initial death finding is followed by a full autopsy at a later date but this usually confirms the finding of the first report.

‘The relevant arrangements have been made with the victim’s relatives, who are in Barcelona,’ police said in an earlier statement.

Police were assisted by a sighting of Gracey walking towards the sea on the beach adjacent to the nightclub, and again on the breakwater.

‘A witness who happened to be passing saw him leave the nightclub, saw him heading towards this rocky outcrop,’ a source at Mossos d’Esquadra earlier told the Daily Mail.

‘From there he may have fallen into the sea and drowned.’