Family Friend Says 20-Year-Old Auburn Student Sought Space, Not Self-Harm, Before Kyoto Death
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Jun 8
Family Friend Says 20-Year-Old Auburn Student Sought Space, Not Self-Harm, Before Kyoto Death
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Jun 8
Summary
Family friends said Monday that James “Weston” Higginbotham, 20, likely set out on a familiar kind of solo “decompression” hike after an argument with his mother, and did not intend to harm himself.
Volunteer searchers found the Auburn University student's body Saturday in mountains outside Kyoto, days after he was last seen at Kyoto train station on May 29.
The search was delayed until Wednesday by Typhoon Janmi, which brought flooding, landslides and blackouts to Kyoto; authorities have not said when or how he died.
Police have indicated no foul play, while relatives and local officials described Higginbotham as an experienced hiker, biosystems engineering student and environmentalist whose loss has shaken his Alabama community.