James ‘Weston’ Higginbotham found dead: body of missing Auburn University in Japan found in rugged terrain in Kyoto after disagreement with parents over reliance on AI led to student venturing off himself amid recent torrential downpours. Cause and manner of death yet to be determined.
Family vacation terror: The body of a missing U.S college student who had been missing in Japan for a week was on Saturday found in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto, according to his family.
James “Weston” Higginbotham, 20, of Hoover, Alabama, was on a family trip when he vanished, prompting a massive search by police and local volunteers. He was last seen at the Kyoto train station on May 29.
Weston, who attended Auburn University was an avid outdoorsman and nature enthusiast, had been missing since May 29, 2026. Family members said he left to explore Kyoto on his own after a disagreement with his mother about her use of ChatGPT and the environmental resources required to power artificial intelligence tools while planning their trip.
Search for missing Auburn University student hampered by torrential rains
The Auburn student, who majors in biosystems engineering, is devoted to sustainable design and opposes the world’s increasing reliance on AI.
He was last seen in Kyoto’s Yamashina district, walking alone along a route that connected to a hiking trail leading into nearby forested areas.
Heavy rains from a typhoon delayed the search until Wednesday, according to Takuya Nishikawa of the Kyoto Prefectural Police Headquarters, NBC News reported.
Cause and manner of death yet to be determined
Authorities and volunteers spent days searching the rugged terrain before locating his body. Further details about the circumstances surrounding his death have not been released.
The cause and manner of death will be determined by local authorities.
‘The grief we feel is impossible to put into words,’ mother Nancy Higginbotham wrote in part in a statement posted to Facebook. ‘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.’
