Nancy and Keith Higginbotham confirmed in a Facebook post on June 6 that their son, James "Weston" Higginbotham, was found by a volunteer search-and-rescue group. "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," his parents wrote. "The grief we feel is impossible to put into words."
Surveillance footage reviewed by Japanese authorities placed Weston at Kyoto Station around 8:15 p.m. on May 29, his mother shared in an earlier update. He boarded a local eastbound train, and his phone lost network connectivity at 8:29 p.m., she wrote. Japanese police then reviewed extensive closed-circuit television footage across the city and traced his last confirmed location to the Yamashina area, east of Kyoto.
During the search, Japanese police deployed 50 officers along with K9 units and helicopters to comb the heavily wooded terrain around Yamashina, the Bishamondo area, and the Otowa area north of Yamashina. Volunteers joined the effort alongside law enforcement. "The Japanese police have worked so hard for us thus far," Nancy Higginbotham wrote during the search. "They have watched endless footage on CCTV cameras throughout the city to find Weston's last location, which was Yamashina."
The search took place in challenging conditions. Rain-soaked ground and steep terrain made the operation difficult for searchers. Nancy and her husband had even ventured into the woods themselves on the night of June 1 with flashlights and headlamps, though she wrote they were unprepared for the wildlife they encountered and did not make it far. She had appealed publicly for volunteers to join the effort after the storm passed.
Investigators had considered the possibility that Weston entered nearby hiking trails on his own, his mother said, noting that he was an experienced hiker and outdoorsman. Authorities reportedly ruled out speculation that he had been detained following a night out.
Weston was described as 6'1" tall with long blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a white shirt with "Save the Bees" printed on the back, lavender corduroy pants, and white Adidas shoes with black stripes. He was carrying a shoulder bag featuring the outline of the state of Alabama.
His mother described him as a vegan studying environmental engineering who was well-traveled and an excellent navigator. In a late-night Facebook update during the search, she shared a photo of him hiking the Camino de Santiago between France and Spain.
The family asked for privacy as they begin to grieve. "We now ask for privacy as we begin to navigate this unimaginable loss," they wrote. "We will always love you, Weston."