American missing in Japan found dead in mountainous area near Kyoto

A tragic end this weekend in the search for an American student missing in Japan.Search and rescue volunteers found the body of 20 -year -old James Weston Higginbotham.Family says he disappeared after having an argument with his mother while the family was on vacation.It was supposed to be a celebration.The Higginbotham family traveled from Alabama to Japan to celebrate their youngest son's high school graduation.But the celebration trip quickly turned to tragedy when the oldest son went missing.

After days of searching, the body of 20 -year -old James Weston Higginbotham was found.was found Saturday.His family posted on Facebook, saying in part, was found.

He turned off his locations so the police were able to track through CCT video that he stopped at the Yamashina station.

The multi -day search involved more than 100 police officers, canine units and helicopters.Saturday the family launched their own search efforts with help from local residents and a hired search and rescue team.The family focused their search in a mountainous area because they said Westin loved nature and hiking and thought that's where he may have gone.

He just loves to go outside and go for a walk at a trail or go for a small hike.No matter what time of day, that's just fun to him.

The family is now thanking the volunteers who helped look for him on their Facebook page, closing out by saying, thank you for your thoughts, prayers, and support.We will need them now more than ever.We will always love you, Weston.

This afternoon, it's still unclear how the 20 -year -old died.

Japanese investigators were concerned about his well -being since he didn't speak Japanese and didn't know his way around.