<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Auburn University student who disappeared in Japan has been found dead, his mother said on Facebook Saturday.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">James “Weston” Higginbotham was found by a volunteer search-and-rescue group outside of Kyoto, Nancy Higginbotham </span><a href="https://www.facebook.com/nancy.higginbotham.50/posts/pfbid02ziddTrQ5h3QGquHD4cjJTtQ5sgcXUgNudkf9Gpdg2X6bGxMNBaJ3ZzoNJdFF1zGQl"><span style="font-weight: 400;">wrote</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Additional details such as cause of death are not currently known.</span></p>
<p><iframe loading="lazy" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fnancy.higginbotham.50%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0wAzSYgmiqwjhtPSjRddE5JCRRqQnwggbNiGGMKhDXxPKBBmS1nirFRFqo2KMWNAMl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="737" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.”</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Weston, 20, vanished May 29 after deciding to explore on his own, The Daily Wire previously </span><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/search-intensifies-for-auburn-student-missing-in-japan"><span style="font-weight: 400;">reported</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. 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.</span></p>
<p>Local police said Weston left Kyoto Station alone before he was last seen on surveillance footage in Yamashina, on a path leading to a <span style="font-weight: 400;">hiking trail in nearby woods, CNN </span><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2026/06/04/us/weston-missing-american-student-japan-hnk"><span style="font-weight: 400;">reported</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Higginbotham said Weston was found in “a mountainous area.”</span></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dozens of Japanese authorities, along with search dogs and helicopters, were searching for Weston amid waist-high mud after a typhoon struck the area.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The family had asked people to share Weston’s photo on social media to help people in Japan recognize him.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“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.”</span></p>

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Missing Auburn Student Weston Higginbotham Found Dead In Japan