Alabama family pleads for return of son missing on family trip in Japan

By Jessie Yeung, Hanako Montgomery, Isabel Rosales, CNN

Kyoto, Japan (CNN) — Nancy Higginbotham wasn’t worried when her 20-year-old son got on a train by himself during their family vacation in Japan. James, who goes by Weston, is an experienced traveler and often goes exploring alone. But when his phone’s location turned off, she knew something was wrong.

The Alabama family had been traveling in Japan for a week by then. But travel frictions arose: Weston, a passionate naturalist, had butted heads with his mother over her use of ChatGPT – and the natural resources such AI requires – to navigate their journey. Needing some space, he decided to explore Kyoto on his own while the rest of the family visited a nearby temple, Higginbotham said.

That was May 29. They haven’t seen Weston since, sparking a frantic search by authorities in a mountainous, forested part of Japan – during a typhoon.

“It’s not unusual for Weston to blow off steam going to the woods and just exploring. That’s his happy place,” Higginbotham told CNN. “I’m thinking … he’s just off in the woods, and he got lost.”

“We’re not going to leave (Japan) until we find Weston,” she added, nodding to a search that now also includes Japanese police, civilian volunteers and the FBI.

The family from Birmingham started its Japan vacation on May 22, Higginbotham said. Before Kyoto, they visited several other cities, including Tokyo, in a trip celebrating the high school graduation of Weston’s 18-year-old younger brother.

Weston is a junior at Auburn University studying environmental engineering. His mom described him as “the lover of Mother Nature,” a vegan who has plenty of experience outdoors, including solo hiking the Pyrenees mountains in Europe. It runs in the family, she said, and they often go mountain biking, hiking and white water rafting together.

Weston typically shares his location with his family on the app Life360, which offered some clues to his whereabouts before he went missing.

“While we were visiting a temple, Weston gets on a train,” Higginbotham said. “We’re texting him, saying, ‘Hey, where are you?’ You know, ‘What are you doing?’” The family saw through the app that Weston stopped by a few stores before jumping back on the train – then his location was turned off.

That was alarming and “so out of character,” Higginbotham said. He had never turned off his location before. By 2 a.m., with no sign of Weston, the family reported him missing to local authorities.

He had about 10,000 Japanese yen (about $62.50) on him, and a phone at 34% battery before his location was lost, his mom said.

Weston left Kyoto Station alone at 6 p.m. that day, according to local police. He was last seen around 8 p.m. on CCTV footage, walking alone in the city’s Yamashina area – on a path that led to a hiking trail in the nearby woods.

Though the Yamashina train station is fairly small, it’s connected to four train lines and is one stop away from Kyoto’s main station. The Yamashina area lies on the border between Kyoto and Shiga prefectures and is surrounded by mountains, including the heavily forested Higashiyama mountain range.

A typhoon that approached Kyoto on Tuesday brought heavy rains and concerns for Weston’s safety if he was in the mountains at the time, police said – though they added it’s possible he had already moved from the mountain.

Since Wednesday, police have deployed dozens of officers, several police dogs and a helicopter to search the Yamashina area, with the search scheduled to continue Friday.

“As the missing young man is unfamiliar with the area, we consider it vital to locate him as soon as possible and are doing everything possible to ensure his safe recovery at the earliest opportunity,” said the Kyoto prefectural police officer in charge of the case.

Authorities are treating his disappearance as a missing persons case, as there is currently no evidence suggesting there has been a crime, the officer said.

‘I need him back’

The family is trying to stay positive, but every day has been “awful,” Higginbotham said. One of the worst moments was bagging up Weston’s clothes and giving them to police for sniffer dogs to use. “And then I think – it’s raining, how are they going to find him? How are the dogs going to pick up his scent?”

“Every single second you think about your kid, and then you have the flashbacks of when he was 2, when I was breastfeeding him, the birthday parties we’ve thrown for him, the hikes that we’ve taken,” she added, growing emotional. “I want that back. I need him back.”

The family has been in touch with the US embassy in Japan and the FBI, which is assisting in the search, Higginbotham said.

When asked for comment, the FBI told CNN that it is “ready to assist our international partners with any requests for assistance.”

CNN has sought comment from the US State Department.

Ordinary Japanese civilians have also pitched in to help. “It almost brings me to tears, of what these Japanese people have done for us,” Higginbotham said, describing volunteers who traveled hours by train to hand out flyers, or who helped act as translators at various police stations. Back in the US, Higginbotham’s community is also trying to help offset search-related costs through a GoFundMe.

None of Weston’s credit cards have been used and his outdoors experience has equipped him with good survival skills, she added.

“We have all the hope that he’s going to be found somewhere,” said Weston’s father, Keith. “He pops up at another train station, I don’t know – but until we find him, one way or another, he’s out there, he’s moving somewhere, and we’re going to find him.”

Meanwhile, back home, his community waits for news – and prays for his safety.

Auburn University is aware of Weston’s disappearance and the school has reached out to the family to offer support, according to a statement to the university’s student newspaper, the Auburn Plainsman. It did not provide further details, citing the family’s privacy.

Dozens of loved ones and friends gathered on Tuesday at a church in Birmingham for a vigil, according to CNN affiliate WVTM. His grandfather, Robert Holt, said the family was deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and described Weston as a strong young man who had just finished an Ironman triathlon.

Family friend Clay Farrington said the community is determined to stand by the family during the heartbreaking uncertainty.

“We love y’all,” Farrington told WVTM. “Weston, if you see this, buddy, love y’all. Can’t wait to see y’all back in Birmingham.”

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CNN’s Amanda Musa, Junko Ogura, Yumi Asada and Chris Boyette contributed to this report.