An American college student from Alabama disappeared in Japan during a family trip, leaving his parents pleading for help as they join dozens of police and K-9 units searching the region's wooded trails.James "Weston" Higginbotham, a 20-year-old Auburn University student, has not been heard from since May 29, according to his mother, Nancy Higginbotham."We are in our own living hell," Nancy Higginbotham wrote on social media."He is not detained from a night out partying.
The police have confirmed this.Please, I beg you, be kind.
I'm already in so much pain."Police reviewing CCTV footage determined that Weston’s last confirmed location was Yamashina Station, east of Kyoto.The area around Yamashina includes several popular hiking routes, temples and forested paths, including trails leading toward Mount Otowa and the Kyoto Trail network.ARIZONA STATE STUDENT VANISHES DURING GRAND CANYON TRIP JUST DAYS BEFORE GRADUATION, FAMILY PLEADS FOR HELPJames "Weston" Higginbotham, 20, vanished in Japan during a family trip, according to his mother.
Police believe his last known location was Yamashina Station, east of Kyoto.(Facebook/Nancy Higginbotham )His mother said his phone last showed activity shortly after he arrived at Kyoto Station around 8:15 p.m.
before losing network service minutes later.Family members believe Weston may have boarded a local train heading east before getting off at Yamashina.An experienced hiker and environmental engineering student, he may have intentionally sought out nearby nature trails, his mother said.His family believes he may have been seeking nearby nature trails when he went missing on May 29.
(Facebook/Nancy Higginbotham )She added that Weston may have been emotionally distressed at the time he went missing.MISSING AMERICAN COLLEGE STUDENT SEEN IN NEW HOTEL SECURITY FOOTAGE BEFORE DISAPPEARANCE"If you see him, PLEASE DO NOT POST HIS EXACT LOCATION PUBLICLY.Please call local police immediately and then message me directly," she wro...