Kyoto police are searching for a 20-year-old American man who went missing last week during a family trip to Japan.
James Higginbotham, who also goes by Weston, was last seen in the Kyoto area on Friday last week. His parents, Nancy and Keith Higginbotham, are working with local authorities and are desperately asking the public to help them find their son.
“We truly believe he’s still alive. We’re looking for him alive. I want everyone to know that, because of the sense of urgency, he could be out there needing food or help,” Keith Higginbotham said Thursday. “We’ve got to find him.”
On Wednesday, as a tropical storm brought heavy rain and strong winds to the area, 50 local police officers and police dogs trekked through mud and helicopters droned above heavily wooded areas around the mountainous Yamashina Ward in the city of Kyoto, after police mapped his movements using CCTV.
A tall, white male with flowing blond hair, Higginbotham was wearing a white T-shirt bearing the words “save the bees” when he disappeared. Nancy Higginbotham described her eldest son as a “vegan pacifist” and a natural adventurer who “enjoys life.” She had no serious concerns about his well-being prior to his disappearance.
A copy of a leaflet showing that James “Weston” Higginbotham has been missing
| Nancy Higginbotham
He is an experienced hiker who would often venture deep into the woods, straying from trails, Nancy Higginbotham said. “He lives to see the sunrise,” she said, describing his past ambitious adventures at all hours.
“It’s been 5½ days,” she said, describing the uncertainty as heartbreaking, traumatic and taking an immense toll.
The well-traveled, outdoorsy family arrived in Tokyo on May 22, on a trip to celebrate the high school graduation of their youngest son, Grayton. After busy days zigzagging the country, they arrived in Kyoto on May 29.
Wanting some space, James Higginbotham set out to explore the city by himself with the expectation that the family would meet up again afterward. The family uses Life360, a GPS tracking app, and when his parents saw their eldest had boarded a train, they pestered him to tell them his plans. Shortly afterward his GPS was switched off. There has been no recorded usage of his credit card or Japanese eSIM since then.
The family filed a missing person report to a Kyoto police station later that night. The public has been of great help by handing out posters, helping with mapping and interpretation, the couple said.
If you have any information about James Higginbotham, please call the Higashiyama Police Station in Kyoto at 075-525-0110.
AloJapan.com