Body of missing American college student found in Kyoto mountains

20-year-old on family trip to Japan had been missing since May 29.

On May 25, 20-year-old James “Weston” Higginbotham arrived in Japan with his parents and younger brother on a family vacation to celebrate the younger sibling’s high school graduation. During the trip, the environmentally minded James argued with his mother over her use of AI, and the ecological impact of such systems, and on May 29, when the family was in Kyoto, James decided to break off from the group and spend time alone. Before James turned off his phone’s location sharing function, it showed that he visited a home supplies store and took the train to Yamashina Station, in the foothills to the east of downtown Kyoto. After exiting Yamashina Station, he could be seen on security camera footage approaching the entrance to a hiking trail after sundown.

James neither contacted his family nor returned to the hotel, and so his parents reported him as missing to the police. Search efforts were hampered by a powerful storm that swept through the area following his disappearance, and despite the use of helicopters and tracking dogs, the police were unable to locate him. In the afternoon of June 6, though, local volunteers who had offered their assistance found a body matching his description near Bishamondo Monzeki, a temple in Yamashina Ward, and the following day investigators were able to confirm that the body was James’.

“Our family is heartbroken to share that Weston was found deceased by a volunteer search-and-rescue group in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto,” said James’ family, who had remained in Japan while the search was ongoing, in a social media post, along with “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.”

The Kyoto Prefectural Police have said that they will not be publicly releasing the cause of death, but that there were no signs of foul play.

Source: Yomiuri TV, Teleasa News, Facebook/Nancy Higginbotham, CNN
Top image: Wikipedia/SONIC BLOOMING
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