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Body Found Near Kyoto
James "Weston" Higginbotham, a 20-year-old Auburn University student, was found dead in a mountainous area near Kyoto after going missing during a family trip in Japan.
“James "Weston" Higginbotham, 20, was reported missing on May 29”
ABC News reported that Higginbotham was reported missing on May 29 after he stopped responding to his family's messages on the phone and turned off his location, and that his cause of death has not been released.
CBS News said Higginbotham was found by a volunteer search-and-rescue group, and his mother Nancy Higginbotham wrote on Facebook that the family is facing an "Unimaginable loss."
Search efforts in Japan included over 100 police officers and the use of dogs and helicopters, according to CBS News, and the family had recently hired a professional rescue crew after Japanese authorities said they were suspending search efforts.
Mother’s Messages and Police
Nancy Higginbotham told ABC News that "The grief we feel is impossible to put into words," and she said the family shared their story "in the media in the hope of finding Weston."
ABC News also said investigators in Japan believe it is highly probable the biosystems engineering student left his family intentionally, while police were concerned for his safety because he does not speak Japanese and may not know his way around.
CBS News reported that Higginbotham was last seen leaving a train station in Kyoto on May 29, and that his parents saw his location move on a family tracking app before they texted him but didn't receive a response.
NBC News said police in Kyoto told the family he had been missing since leaving his hotel on May 29, and that his mother said he was last known to have entered the mountainous forest area near Yamashina, Kyoto, where there are water sources but limited food.
Search Aftermath and University
Auburn University President Christopher B. Roberts confirmed Higginbotham's death in a statement, calling him a "valued member of the Auburn Family" and saying the school "mourns this heartbreaking loss."
“"valued member of the Auburn Family"”
NBC News reported that Higginbotham's mother shared the news on Saturday that his body had been found by a volunteer search and rescue group, and she wrote, "We now ask for privacy as we begin to navigate this unimaginable loss."
Fox News said the update came after a weeklong search and that Higginbotham was last seen May 29 near Yamashina Station, just east of Kyoto, after his phone location went dark.
People reported that Higginbotham's mother confirmed his death through a June 6 Instagram post and said he "was found deceased by a volunteer search-and-rescue group in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto," while CBS News said his cause of death or more details were not immediately available.