The body of an Auburn University student who had been missing in Japan for a week has been found in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto, according to his family.
James “Weston” Higginbotham, 20, 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.
His mother, Nancy Higginbotham, shared the news on Saturday that his body had been found by a volunteer search and rescue group.
“The grief we feel is impossible to put into words,” Higginbotham wrote 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.”
Higginbotham expressed gratitude for all those who helped search for her son, showed support or prayed for their family.
“We shared our story here and in the media in the hope of finding Weston. We now ask for privacy as we begin to navigate this unimaginable loss,” she said.
The Higginbotham family previously said that the 20-year-old went missing after an argument over artificial intelligence during a family trip and feared he could have been “emotionally distressed.”
He walked away from his parents after his mother was using ChatGPT to help find restaurants and other sights in the area, Nancy Higginbotham told NBC News. The Auburn student, who studied biosystems engineering, was devoted to sustainable design and opposed the world’s increasing reliance on AI, she added.
Police in Kyoto said Weston Higginbotham had been missing since leaving his hotel on May 29. His mother said that her son was last known to have entered the mountainous forest area near Yamashina, Kyoto, where there are water sources but limited food.
Heavy rains from a typhoon delayed the search until Wednesday, according to Takuya Nishikawa of the Kyoto Prefectural Police Headquarters.
In a statement, Auburn University President Christopher B. Roberts said the Alabama school is mourning the junior student’s loss.
“The Auburn Family mourns this heartbreaking loss and holds Weston’s family, friends and loved ones close in our thoughts during this incredibly difficult time,” Roberts said in the statement.
