American college student missing in Kyoto, last seen by family one week ago

TOKYO — Japanese police and volunteers are searching for an American college student who went missing in Kyoto and hasn’t been seen in a week.

Twenty-year-old James “Weston” Higginbotham and his family arrived in Japan from the U.S. on May 25, spending time in Tokyo and elsewhere before reaching Kyoto. Weston declined to go with his parents and 18-year-old younger brother while they visited a temple on May 29, instead opting to sightsee on his own, while sharing his location through the Life360 phone app.

▼ James “Weston” Higginbotham, missing since the night of May 29 in Kyoto

Based on his location data, Weston left the family’s hotel by himself at around 6 p.m. and later boarded a train at Kyoto Station, a five-minute ride away. He can be seen on multiple security cameras leaving Yamashina Station and walking in the neighborhood around 8 p.m., wearing a gray T-shirt with “Save the bees” written across it and brown pants, and carrying a shoulder bag. His last known location was on a path that leads to a hiking trail that goes into the mountainous forest region to the east of Kyoto City.

At 8:29 p.m., Weston turned off location-sharing on his phone, something his mother said he has never done before in such situations. Examination of his location data prior to disconnecting also shows that Weston visited a home supplies store at some point after leaving the hotel. By 2 a.m., Weston had not returned to the hotel or contacted his family, so they reported him as missing to the police.

According to his family, Weston is an experienced outdoorsman and international traveler, having solo hiked in Europe, and the family often hikes, mountain bikes and river rafts together. “It’s not unusual for Weston to blow off steam going to the woods and just exploring,” his mother, Nancy, said. “That’s his happy place.”

As such, she remains optimistic that her son has simply gotten lost and can be safely rescued, but a powerful storm that passed through the area earlier this week means conditions were likely more dangerous than usual.

Japanese online reactions to the family’s plight have included:

“I hope they find him soon.”
“Please let him have been taken in by some kind countryside family that’s been feeding him good food all this time.”
“I work as a delivery driver, so I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for him.”
“Hoping he makes it back with a simply ‘Sorry! Got lost.’”
“Please, please be safe.”

At the time that he went missing, Weston is believed to have had around 10,000 yen in cash on him, and none of his credit cards have been used since he was last seen. With no signs of foul play, the police are treating the situation as a missing person case, and have deployed helicopters and police dogs in the search, and Japanese volunteer groups have been pitching in as well, but so far, no sign of him has been seen.

Source: Teleasa News, CNN, CBS, YouTube/ANNnewsCH

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