Missing Auburn college student found dead in Kitayama Mountains, Japan

A college student who went missing in Japan while on a trip with his family was found dead, his mother said on Facebook Saturday.

James “Weston” Higginbotham, 20, a junior biosystems engineering major at Auburn University, had been missing from Kyoto since May 29. He was seen on surveillance video leaving a train in Yamashina.

His mother, Nancy Higginbotham, said he “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. We are forever grateful for the time we had with our sweet, precious Weston, but cannot begin to understand what life without him will be like,” she said.

She also thanked “the countless people across the United States, Japan, and around the world who shared Weston’s story, prayed for our family, offered encouragement, and helped in the search efforts.

“The outpouring of kindness and support has carried us through the darkest days of our lives,” she wrote. “We shared our story here and in the media in the hope of finding Weston. We now ask for privacy as we begin to navigate this unimaginable loss.”

The family was on the trip to celebrate his younger brother’s high school graduation and had been traveling together since May 25.

Weston Higginbotham was an environmentalist who clashed with his mother over her use of Chat GPT and its use of natural resources just before he left. He decided to explore by himself that day, then stopped responding to texts.

In the wooded area near Kyoto where the family believed Weston Higginbotham was likely to be, police searched for 72 hours then stopped on Friday. The family, volunteers and a hired rescue team continued the search Saturday, when his body was found.

No cause of death has been reported.

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This story was originally published June 6, 2026 at 1:27 PM.