NIGHTMARE

Missing Alabama Student Found Dead in Japan

His mother confirmed the grim news on Facebook.

Missing Auburn University student James “Weston” Higginbotham has been found dead in a mountainous area outside Kyoto in Japan. Higginbotham, 20, went missing during a family vacation, and was last seen on May 29, exiting a train in Yamashina Ward, Kyoto. In a post on Facebook on Saturday, his mother, Nancy Higginbotham, said her son had been found dead by a search and rescue team. “The grief we feel is impossible to put into words. 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,” she wrote. Thanking people around the world for their assistance, she asked that the family now be afforded privacy. “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. Thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support. We will need them now more than ever. We will always love you, Weston.” No information was given about the cause of death.