A 20-Year-Old Auburn Student Went Missing During a Family Trip to Japan

A 20-year-old college student disappeared during a family trip to Japan, and his family is still looking for him. James “Weston” Higginbotham disappeared in the Kyoto area on May 29, and there has been no sign of him since.

Given that Weston has already been missing for a week, his parents are now desperate for information that might help them learn more about his whereabouts. Now that this story is getting national attention, plenty of regular people are also starting to wonder what might have happened to him. Here's what we know.

Weston's mother, Nancy Higginbotham, has been writing about her son's disappearance on social media and explained that they traveled to Japan on May 25 to celebrate their son's 18th birthday. They came from Alabama and had been in the country since May 25.

“We are in our own living hell,” she wrote in a June 2 alert. “He is not detained from a [night] out partying. The police have confirmed this. Please, I beg you, be kind. I'm already in so much pain.”

Local police have confirmed that Weston got off the train at Yamashina station in Kyoto on May 29, and it's unclear if he got back on the train. His parents think he might have gotten onto a hiking trail from Yamashina, as he is an experienced hiker.

His last phone activity occurred on that evening as well, per AL.com. He is described as 6 feet 1 inch tall, with long blonde hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a "Save the bees" t-shirt.

Nancy and her husband, Keith, have been actively searching for Weston in the days since he disappeared, but their efforts have been hindered by a typhoon that swept through the area.

“My husband and I went last night with flashlights and headlamps and didn't get too far because we weren't prepared for the wildlife we encountered,” Nancy wrote on June 2. “If anyone wants to join us after the storm, I would be grateful.”

In Nancy's update on June 3, she said that Japanese authorities had scoured hours of CCTV footage looking for her son, and confirmed his last known location was in Yamashina. They also started search and rescue operations that were made difficult by the wet and hazardous terrain caused by the typhoon.

“We will not lose hope,” Nancy wrote, “and we feel all of the love that you are pouring out throughout the day.”

Searching for Weston was set to recommence on June 4, and Nancy expressed gratitude to both the Japanese and American agencies who had helped her family in dealing with this crisis.

“If you know Weston, you know what a great kid he is,” Nancy said in a joint video with her husband on June 2. “He has a heart of gold, and we all want him to come back safely.”