Missing U.S. student found dead near Kyoto, mother says
by Milana Vinn · Japan TodayNEW YORK — An American student who disappeared while on a family vacation in Japan has been found dead outside Kyoto, his mother wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday.
The body of James Higginbotham, 20, was discovered in a mountainous area by a volunteer search-and-rescue group, Nancy Higginbotham wrote.
A cause of death and further details were not immediately available.
“Our family is heartbroken,” she wrote. “The grief we feel is impossible to put into words.”
Higginbotham, an Alabama resident and an engineering student at Auburn University, was last seen leaving a Kyoto train station on May 29. Later that night, his phone went dark and its location services were turned off, his mother previously told Reuters.
Until then, she was able to track his movements using the app Life360, she said.
His parents believe he was heading to a nearby hiking trail. Nancy Higginbotham had told Reuters she believed her son may have "needed space."
The Higginbotham family was visiting Japan to celebrate the high school graduation of James Higginbotham's younger brother.
An initial search by Japanese authorities lasted three days and included around 100 police officers, K-9 units and helicopters, but did not uncover any trace of him, CNN reported.
© Thomson Reuters 2026.