{"id":920,"date":"2026-06-08T21:11:53","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=920"},"modified":"2026-06-08T21:11:53","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:11:53","slug":"auburn-student-whose-body-was-found-after-going-missing-in-japan-was-on-a-decompression-hike","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=920","title":{"rendered":"Auburn student whose body was found after going missing in Japan was on a \u2018decompression\u2019 hike"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

An Auburn University student who died in Japan after going off on a solo hike away from his family enjoyed long strolls for \u201cdecompression\u201d and wouldn\u2019t have wanted to harm himself, a family friend said Monday.<\/p>\n

Read more Two pilots killed in plane crash en route to pick up former MLB star<\/a><\/p>\n

James \u201cWeston\u201d Higginbotham, 20, was last seen at the Kyoto train station on May 29 before volunteer searchers found his body in the mountains just outside the ancient city on Saturday.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Higginbotham was traveling with his parents when he got into an argument with his mother over her use of ChatGPT during the vacation. After the argument he walked away, his mother, Nancy Higginbotham, previously said.<\/p>\n

While hiking at night in a foreign land might seem odd to many, longtime neighbor and family friend Audrey Daniels said Higginbotham knew what he was doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was definitely an experienced hiker and that was a mode of decompression for him as well,\u201d Daniels, 23, told NBC News on Monday.<\/p>\n

Daniels and another family friend, Jennifer Harper Bowen, both said they don\u2019t believe Higginbotham would have sought to harm himself.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cHe was upset and he wanted space, so I don\u2019t think he turned his phone off because he didn\u2019t want to be found. He turned his phone off because he was upset,\u201d Bowen, 39, whose son also studies at Auburn, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think he intentionally ran away or tried to harm himself or anything like that. I think this is just a very bad set of circumstances and very bad timing.\u201d <\/p>\n

Foul play is not suspected, but a police official with the authority to comment could not be reached by NBC News on Sunday and Monday.<\/p>\n

Higginbotham was wearing a \u201cSave the Bees\u201d T-shirt when he went missing.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had such a big heart for his friends and family, for strangers, and especially, of course, for the environment,\u201d Daniels said. \u201cSo he was definitely, definitely compassionate.\u201d <\/p>\n

Read more Apple renames Siri as \u2018Siri AI\u2019 with new push into artificial intelligence<\/a><\/p>\n

The search for Higginbotham was delayed until Wednesday because of Typhoon Janmi. It is not clear when and how the Auburn student died but the typhoon brought brutal elements, including flooding, landslides and blackouts to Kyoto.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Daniels said she\u2019ll cherish her childhood memories of him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to remember him as such a fun kid to be around,\u201d she said. \u201cHe was extremely smart, extremely well-rounded guy. Whenever he was at the house, it was such a joy to see him.\u201d <\/p>\n

The Auburn student studied biosystems engineering and was devoted to sustainable design, loved ones said.<\/p>\n

Nancy Higginbotham described her son as a \u201cpacifist\u201d who wouldn\u2019t even stomp on spiders or insects in their Hoover, Alabama, house, opting to carry them outside.<\/p>\n

The student was opposed to the growing influence of artificial intelligence and \u201che\u2019s not wrong\u201d and \u201cfeels very convicted about that,\u201d she told NBC News last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I just kept like hiding it from him throughout the trip. I\u2019d be like, \u2018Oh, look, I found an amazing restaurant,\u2019 and he knew I was using ChatGPT,\u201d the mom said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cIt just was boiling in him and he was like, \u2018I just need a break.\u2019\u201d <\/p>\n

Hoover Mayor Nick Derzis called Higginbotham \u201ca young man of remarkable character\u201d with \u201ca deep love for the outdoors and the world around him.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe touched everyone who knew him,\u201d the mayor said in a statement. \u201cHis loss is a tragedy felt across our entire community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more 6.1-magnitude earthquake off Cuba coast felt in southern Florida<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Auburn University student who died in Japan after going off on a solo hike away from his family enjoyed long strolls for \u201cdecompression\u201d and wouldn\u2019t have wanted to harm himself, a family friend said Monday<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":919,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-920","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAuburn student whose body was found after going missing in Japan was on a \u2018decompression\u2019 hike - Trusted Moving Group<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=920\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Auburn student whose body was found after going missing in Japan was on a \u2018decompression\u2019 hike - 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