Family of young American missing in Japan asks for help in search

A stranger from Tokyo is closing his business for a week to help. Another volunteer dropped everything to provide transportation and translations for American parents desperate to find their child.

A week-long search to find James "Weston" Higginbotham yielded no sign of the 20-year-old. Now, with the permission of the Japanese police, the student's family has made a public appeal for any experienced hiker to help search the land. This search will begin on Saturday (6).

"The people have been amazing," said Weston's mother, Nancy Higginbotham.

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Weston, an Auburn University student who was in Japan with his family to celebrate his brother's high school graduation, disappeared on May 29 after an argument with his mother. He left alone, and the location app on his phone was turned off.

Missing poster for James Weston Higginbotham - Nancy Higginbotham via CNN Newsource
He was last seen in security camera footage walking alone near the border between Kyoto and Shiga prefectures, on a path that led to a hiking trail in the nearby forest.

Local police searched the area, which includes the heavily forested Higashiyama mountain range. After a typhoon hit the region this week, officers returned from the search zone waist-deep in mud, Weston's father, Keith Higginbotham, told CNN on Friday.

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"There were over 100 police officers there in the last 72 hours, including sniffer dogs and helicopters, and they found nothing," said Nancy.

Eventually, police had to reduce search resources, Nancy said. So "I went to the Shiga police station to ask if I could coordinate a search and rescue event with citizens, because you have to ask for permission," she said.

"We were having communication problems. So I looked on my WhatsApp, looked up the last person who said they would translate for me. And within 30 minutes, they were at the Shiga police station translating for me, and then they drove me to Kyoto Prefecture, and then they took me back to my Airbnb."

The outpouring of support in Japan has been overwhelming - both in person and online.

A verified GoFundMe account to support search efforts has already raised more than $40,000, including $25,000 from an anonymous donor.

But the couple emphasized that they "definitely want to make sure that everyone is cautious, that everyone has a partner walking along."

"If anyone goes there, be prepared for difficult terrain. And if it's too difficult, you don't have to go. (You can) walk around the neighborhood" with flyers, Keith said. "We don't want anyone to be in danger."

A man who saw the family's public appeal from hundreds of miles away will travel to join the search. "He's in Tokyo and he's closing his business for a week to come help us," said Nancy.

"He wanted to do this because when he was in the States, he had a lot of people helping him, and this is his way of returning the favor. And it just gave me goosebumps. So I'm very grateful for any help we can get."

Source: CNN