Mother says grief is impossible after Auburn student found dead near Kyoto

Nancy Higginbotham said her mother is grieving after James "Weston" Higginbotham was found dead on Saturday in the mountains of Yamashina Ward in Kyoto. Volunteer searchers discovered the 20-year-old Auburn University student around 2:35 p.m. local time after he had been missing in Japan since May 29.

Police had searched the same mountain area after some of his belongings were found there and after security video last showed him alive in Yamashina Ward. Police said there is no indication of foul play.

Nancy Higginbotham on Saturday

Nancy Higginbotham wrote on Facebook on Saturday: "The grief we feel is impossible to put into words." She also wrote, "We shared our story here and in the media in the hope of finding Weston."

She asked for space as the family begins to absorb the loss. "We now ask for privacy as we begin to navigate this unimaginable loss," she wrote. In the same post, she added: "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."

Yamashina Ward search

Higginbotham disappeared while on a trip with his family, and he stopped responding to messages on his phone and turned off his location on May 29. Police had previously told News that they believed it was highly probable Higginbotham left his family intentionally, and police were concerned for his safety because he did not speak Japanese and may not have known his way around.

The search centered on a mountain in Kyoto's Yamashina Ward, where volunteer searchers later found his remains. His cause of death has not been released, leaving the family with the loss of a son and the authorities with a closed search but no public explanation for how he died.