James “Weston” Higginbotham disappeared during a family trip to Japan.
HOOVER, Ala. — An Alabama family is asking for the public’s help as search efforts continue for a 20-year-old Auburn University student who disappeared while traveling in Japan at the end of May.
James “Weston” Higginbotham was last confirmed in the Kyoto area on May 29 during a family trip that began May 25, according to his mother, Nancy. Authorities have since narrowed his last known location to Yamashina Station, east of Kyoto, using surveillance video, FOX54 reports.
Nancy Higginbotham said police determined he got off a train at Yamashina Station, though it is unclear whether he later boarded another train. His phone reportedly lost service at around 8:29 p.m., shortly after he arrived at Kyoto Station at around 8:15 p.m.
In Facebook posts from Tuesday and Wednesday, his mother said authorities were searching on foot, with helicopters also scanning nearby hills. She described her son as “a very experienced hiker.”
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She asked those reading her plea for help to “please be kind” while hoping to dispel rumors about how her son may have gone missing.
“We are in our own living hell. He is not detained from a night out partying. The police have confirmed this,” Nancy Higginbotham wrote on Tuesday. “Please, I beg you, be kind. I’m already in so much pain.”
Auburn University administrators said they were aware of Higginbotham’s disappearance.
“Our thoughts are with Weston, his family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time. University officials have reached out to the family and offered support. Weston, who is a junior biosystems engineering major, was traveling with his family at the time of his disappearance,” Auburn administrators wrote. “Out of respect for the family’s privacy and ongoing efforts to locate Weston, the university has no further comment. “
Back home, friends and family gathered for a vigil at Asbury United Methodist Church, praying for his safe return and for peace for the family as the search continues.
Higginbotham grew up in Hoover, a city of about 90,000 people, outside Birmingham. Hoover’s Mayor Nick Derzis said he and his family were praying for the 20-year-old’s return.
“May strength, wisdom and endurance be with all those working to bring him home,” Derzis wrote on the Hoover, Ala. government website. “Our hearts are with the Higginbotham family during this difficult time, and we remain hopeful for a positive resolution.”
AloJapan.com