Missing Auburn Student Weston Higginbotham Found Dead In Japan

The Auburn University student who disappeared in Japan has been found dead, his mother said on Facebook Saturday.

James “Weston” Higginbotham was found by a volunteer search-and-rescue group outside of Kyoto, Nancy Higginbotham wrote. Additional details such as cause of death are not currently known.

“The grief we feel is impossible to put into words,” Higginbotham said. “We are deeply grateful to 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.”

Weston, 20, vanished May 29 after deciding to explore on his own, The Daily Wire previously reported. He and his mother had argued over the use of ChatGPT to help navigate the family’s vacation, and Weston often went exploring “to blow off steam,” Nancy said.

Local police said Weston left Kyoto Station alone before he was last seen on surveillance footage in Yamashina, on a path leading to a hiking trail in nearby woods, CNN reported. Higginbotham said Weston was found in “a mountainous area.”

Search efforts had focused on wooded, mountainous terrain outside Kyoto, where Higginbotham was ultimately found by the rescue group, according to his mother. Authorities believed Weston may have entered after leaving the trail area.

Dozens of Japanese authorities, along with search dogs and helicopters, were searching for Weston amid waist-high mud after a typhoon struck the area.

The family had asked people to share Weston’s photo on social media to help people in Japan recognize him.

“We shared our story here and in the media in the hope of finding Weston,” Nancy said on Facebook. “We now ask for privacy as we begin to navigate this unimaginable loss. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. We will need them now more than ever.”