A desperate search for a missing American college student in Japan has ended in heartbreak.
According to CNN, James “Weston” Higginbotham, a 20-year-old Auburn University student from Alabama, was found dead in a mountainous area outside Kyoto after disappearing during a family vacation in Japan. His family confirmed the tragic development on Saturday.
As the source reports, Higginbotham went missing on May 29 after leaving his family to explore Kyoto on his own. Surveillance footage later showed him arriving at a train station in the city’s Yamashina area before his phone signal was lost. The disappearance sparked an intensive search involving local authorities, volunteers and concerned supporters from around the world.
His mother, Nancy Higginbotham, announced the devastating news in a social media post, revealing that a volunteer search-and-rescue group located his body in a remote mountainous region near Kyoto. Authorities have not yet disclosed the cause of death.
The family had travelled to Japan to celebrate his younger brother’s graduation, making the tragedy even more painful. Friends, supporters and members of the Auburn University community have since shared messages of sympathy and support.
For now, many questions remain unanswered, but for the Higginbotham family, the focus has shifted from searching for Weston to mourning a life cut tragically short.
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