{"id":36671,"date":"2026-06-07T12:19:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T12:19:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/36671\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T12:19:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T12:19:47","slug":"missing-american-student-found-dead-in-japan-after-dayslong-search-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/36671\/","title":{"rendered":"Missing American student found dead in Japan after dayslong search"},"content":{"rendered":"

Search-and-rescue volunteers in Japan have found the body of an Auburn University student<\/a> who went missing during a family vacation, his family said, marking a tragic end to a frantic dayslong search across forested mountains.<\/p>\n

James \u201cWeston\u201d Higginbotham, 20, was found dead Saturday outside Kyoto, his family announced in a social media post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Police in Kyoto told CNN Weston\u2019s body was found around 2:35 p.m. Saturday by volunteers searching the mountains in the city\u2019s Yamashina area. No foul play is suspected, police added, noting they will not disclose a cause of death.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur family is heartbroken to share that Weston was found deceased by a volunteer search-and-rescue group in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto. The grief we feel is impossible to put into words,\u201d the family wrote.<\/p>\n

unknown content item<\/p>\n

–<\/p>\n

A passionate naturalist, Weston vanished May 29 after leaving his parents and brother to explore Kyoto on his own after butting heads with his mother over her use of ChatGPT \u2013 and the natural resources such AI requires \u2013 to navigate their trip.<\/p>\n

Using the Life360 app to track his location, his parents saw that Weston got on a train and visited several stores. They texted him to ask where he was going, and his location was turned off shortly afterward, which was out of character for him, his mother said.<\/p>\n

Weston was last seen on CCTV footage walking alone in the city\u2019s Yamashina area, on a path that led to a hiking trail in the nearby woods.<\/p>\n

Given the camera\u2019s location near the trail and Weston\u2019s love of hiking, police decided on June 2 to search the forest, but were hindered by a storm that brought wind and heavy rain to the region that night.<\/p>\n

Officials cited concerns for Weston\u2019s safety during the storm should he have been in the mountains at the time.<\/p>\n

A 72-hour police search of the densely wooded area Weston was last spotted walking toward ended Friday, according to the family. The search involved more than 100 police officers, K-9s and helicopters.<\/p>\n

On Saturday, the Higginbothams launched their own search efforts<\/a>, with help from local residents and a hired search-and-rescue team to focus on areas of the forests of Yamashina that police did not search, according to the family.<\/p>\n

Following the discovery of Weston\u2019s body, the family thanked those who had shared their story and aided in the search.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe outpouring of kindness and support has carried us through the darkest days of our lives,\u201d the family wrote. \u201cThank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. We will need them now more than ever. We will always love you, Weston.\u201d<\/p>\n

University community and local leaders pay tribute<\/p>\n

Following news of Weston\u2019s death, Auburn University President Christopher Roberts said the community lost \u201ca valued member of the Auburn Family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn behalf of Auburn University, I extend my deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of James \u2018Weston\u2019 Higginbotham, who died while traveling in Japan,\u201d Roberts said in a statement to CNN.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Auburn Family mourns this heartbreaking loss and holds Weston\u2019s family, friends and loved ones close in our thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weston was a Hoover, Alabama, native who graduated from Spain Park High School, Hoover Mayor Nick Derzis said in a social media post<\/a>, adding the north central Alabama community is \u201cheartbroken\u201d over the news.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past several days, Hoover residents came together in prayer and hope for Weston\u2019s safe return,\u201d Derzis said. \u201cToday, our hearts are with the Higginbotham family as they face an unimaginable loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weston was a \u201cyoung man of remarkable character\u201d who \u201ctouched everyone who knew him,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cHis loss is a tragedy felt across our entire community,\u201d Derzis said.<\/p>\n

US Senators Katie Britt<\/a> and Tommy Tuberville<\/a> also mourned Weston\u2019s death on social media.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease join us in praying for James\u2019s family, friends, and loved ones as they, and all of Alabama, mourn this tragic loss,\u201d Britt said in the statement.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Susan DuBose paid tribute, saying<\/a>, \u201cOur community of Greystone, Hoover, North Shelby County and beyond have been praying for this family and the safe return of Weston. May God be with this precious family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Weston loved to \u2018embed himself in different cultures\u2019<\/p>\n

Weston\u2019s mother, Nancy Higginbotham, described him as an ardent protector of the environment and a wanderer who loved to travel and enjoy nature.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe just loves to go outside and go for a walk at a trail or go for a small hike, no matter what time of day,\u201d she told CNN\u2019s Erin Burnett Friday. \u201cThat\u2019s just fun to him.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a lover of the natural world, Weston had spent his life protecting it, too. That became more of a focus for him about a year ago, when Weston became vegan. As a junior at Auburn University, Weston had been studying sustainability engineering, she said.<\/p>\n

Weston was always educating himself \u201cabout the world\u201d and reading books every chance he had, his mother said. On the trip, Weston had been carrying a book about butterflies in his back pocket.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis goal in life is to travel\u2026and go to all of these amazing mountains and places where he can embed himself in different cultures,\u201d Nancy Higginbotham said.<\/p>\n

This story has been updated with additional information. <\/p>\n

CNN\u2019s Jessie Yeung contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Search-and-rescue volunteers in Japan have found the body of an Auburn University student who went missing during a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":36672,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[26397,25988,26406,8,25987,33,27278],"class_list":["post-36671","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-auburn-university","tag-higginbotham","tag-james-quotwestonquot-higginbotham","tag-japan","tag-nancy-higginbotham","tag-nihon","tag-police-search"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36671","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36671"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36671\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36672"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36671"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36671"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36671"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}