What to Know
An Alabama family’s celebratory trip to Japan has ended in heartbreak. James “Weston” Higginbotham, a 20-year-old Auburn University student, disappeared while on a family vacation in late May, and he has now been found dead in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto.
James’ mother, Nancy Higginbotham, confirmed the devastating news in a June 6 Facebook post, writing that Weston “was found deceased by a volunteer search-and-rescue group in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto.” She added, “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.”
A Trip That Turned Tragic
According to People, James was on a trip with his family in Japan. The family of four had been together since Monday, May 25, when a disagreement caused Weston to separate from his parents.
According to Nancy, the argument wasn’t anything beyond some mundane bickering, sharing the argument started over her using ChatGPT to help plan the trip. “We try never to use it and I totally agree with him. It was just a dumb, dumb argument to have,” she later told NBC News.
“We decided ‘You go do your thing, we go do our thing’,” his mother, Nancy Higginbotham, told Fox News. She explained that it’s not an “abnormal” thing as he’s an adult who’s also “extremely well-traveled” and a “wonderful navigator,” per Fox News.
According to CBS News, police say there’s CCTV footage of Weston leaving the Yamashina train station. Her son was last seen in the Kyoto area on Friday, May 29. That same evening, his phone went dark and was never turned back on.
A Desperate Search
In the days that followed, the family refused to leave Japan without their son. “A flight home is hard when you realize there’s one person that may not be on the flight with you,” his father Keith told CBS News.
Japanese authorities launched an extensive search, with 50 police officers, K9 units, and helicopters combing the steep, wooded terrain surrounding Yamashina to try and find James. Nancy and Keith joined the search team, but efforts were made even more difficult by a typhoon that swept through the region.
Weston’s family believed James may have set out on a nearby hiking trail, as his father noted there were trails in the area he could easily picture his son wanting to explore. Nancy kept positive, saying her son “has survival skills” and that if he was lost in the woods, she believed he was still alive.
An Outpouring of Support
The case drew widespread attention across social media, with people around the world sharing Weston’s story and volunteers keeping an eye out for him.
Reddit users following the case noted that authorities had indeed pulled the footage, and that it was what led searchers to the wooded area.
One person couldn’t help but wonder if authorities were able to pull footage from the train station where Weston was last seen. Someone commented on the thread, “They did and that’s what lead them to the [wooded] area that they have been searching for two days.”
One person living in Japan wrote online that they had been actively looking for Weston during their travels across multiple cities. The family also received nightly updates from the U.S. Embassy throughout the search.
A Family Now Grieving
Nancy closed her Facebook announcement of James’ being found with a message of gratitude for all those who helped and a request for privacy. “The outpouring of kindness and support has carried us through the darkest days of our lives,” she wrote, thanking everyone who shared the story, prayed for the family, and helped in the search. “We will always love you, Weston.”
Our thoughts are with the Higginbotham family as they navigate this unimaginable loss.
