Overview
- James “Weston” Higginbotham, a 20-year-old Auburn University student, was last seen on CCTV exiting a train at Yamashina and his phone location went dark on Saturday, May 29.
- Kyoto prefecture police mounted search operations with officers, K9 teams and a helicopter focused on Yamashina and nearby mountain trails but have not located him.
- With police permission the family has organized citizen search teams and recruited experienced hikers to comb rugged forest terrain starting this weekend.
- A verified GoFundMe has raised tens of thousands of dollars to support search costs and the family has notified the U.S. Embassy and the FBI, which said it stands ready to assist.
- Search efforts are complicated by recent typhoon-driven heavy rains, steep wooded terrain and the fact that Higginbotham does not speak Japanese, which increases the risk if he is lost or injured.