Auburn Student Missing Since May 29 After Family Separated During Japan Vacation Near Kyoto

James "Weston" Higginbotham, a 20-year-old Auburn University student, has been missing since May 29 near Yamashina Station east of Kyoto, Japan. His parents, Nancy and Keith Higginbotham, said the family decided to separate during the vacation after several days of bickering. The group had spent six days sharing twin beds in a hotel room.

"We had been, you know, kind of bickering with each other, and we decided, you go do your thing, we go do our thing," Nancy Higginbotham said. She added that Weston, whom she described as extremely well-traveled and a capable navigator, went toward the river while his parents visited temples. The family tracked his movements on the Life360 phone app.

The signal showed him by the river, at a pair of stores, and then boarding a train before the location went dark. Weston is 6 feet 1 inch tall with long blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a shirt printed "Save the Bees" on the back, lavender corduroy pants, white Adidas sneakers with black stripes, and carrying a shoulder bag bearing the outline of Alabama.

Dozens of police officers, K-9 units and helicopters have searched wooded areas around Yamashina that include hiking routes toward Mount Otowa and the Kyoto Trail network. Japanese police later added another 50 officers to the effort. Searchers reported working through mud up to their chests while using canine teams and aerial support.

Nancy Higginbotham said the family remains hopeful that Weston will be found alive. "The water is very fresh here; he has plenty of water to drink," she said. U.S. Embassy in Japan and the FBI are assisting in the case.