POLICE in Japan have now confirmed a key development in the case of the American student who was found dead after going missing on a family vacation.
The body of James “Weston” Higginbotham, 20, was discovered on Saturday after a frantic days-long search which also involved the FBI.
“Our family is heartbroken to share that Weston was found deceased by a volunteer search-and-rescue group in a mountainous area outside of Kyoto. The grief we feel is impossible to put into words,” the family wrote in a post on social media.
Police in Kyoto told CNN that Weston was found around 2:35pm on Saturday by a volunteer search and rescue crew.
Authorities have now confirmed to the outlet that no foul play is suspected, and they will not disclose a cause of death.
Officials in Japan are legally and culturally guarded about investigative details.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to Weston’s family for further comment.
Weston is said to have been located in the heavily forested Higashiyama mountain range within the Yamashina Ward area on the eastern border of Kyoto, which is about 300 miles southwest of Tokyo.
“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,” his mother, Nancy, also added in the social media post.
“We are deeply grateful to the countless people across the United States, Japan, and around the world who shared Weston’s story, prayed for our family, offered encouragement, and helped in the search efforts.
“The outpouring of kindness and support has carried us through the darkest days of our lives.
“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.”
Weston had a disagreement with his mother over the use of Chat GPT on the trip and went to explore Kyoto alone while his parents and brother, Grayson, visited a nearby temple.
“It’s not unusual for Weston to blow off steam going to the woods and just exploring. That’s his happy place,” Nancy previously said.
Weston, a student at Alabama’s Auburn University, had shared photographs from his trip and told friends he was looking forward to visiting beauty spots with his family.
The family believed that he went on a solo hike after taking a train to nearby Yamashina, roughly a five-minute ride from Kyoto Station.
His mother, Nancy, said he left with only around $62 on him and his phone battery at 34 per cent.
He reportedly left around 6pm on Friday, May 29 and at 8:29pm, his phone lost network.
His family officially reported him missing to local authorities at 2am after his location was turned off in the Life360 app and he had failed to answer multiple calls and texts.
Police failed to locate their son and Nancy revealed on Friday that they had been given permission to launch our own search party in Shiga.
She shared a new map pinpointing the search area in Kyoto’s Yamashina mountains with a large red circle.
Weston’s grandmother previously told The U.S. Sun that the college student was a nature lover and experienced outdoorsman, insisting his disappearance was out of character for him.
“I just want my grandson to come home,” Judith Higginbotham said from her home in Alabama.
“My grandson is very knowledgeable of the woods, and he camps, and all that. This is not like my Weston.”
During the family’s visit to Japan, the family met up with Weston’s childhood friend, Hiyu Shikari, 20.
They went to school together in the US before Hiyu moved to Japan, and touching video footage showed the boys reuniting and hugging just days before his disappearance.
“I would just like to say let Weston rest in peace in heaven and my deepest condolences to his family,” Shiraki told The U.S. Sun following the news of his friend’s death.
“He was such a wonderful friend and I am truly heartbroken that their trip had turned out this way.”
He previously said they had a wonderful time while at a restaurant in Shinjuku in Tokyo and planned to stay in touch throughout the trip.
Hiyu said, “I tried to contact him on how he was doing in Kyoto, because I was in Kyoto a couple of weeks ago, and also the typhoon was coming as I was kind of worried, and I messaged him, ‘How’s the trip going?’ And that was after he went missing.
“And so I didn’t get any contact with him after I met him.
“I’ve been doing what I can to spread awareness.”
He described him as being like a “best friend and brother” and said his disappearance had left him shaken.
You can watch The U.S. Sun’s full interview with Weston’s friend Shiraki here.
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