Auburn student whose body was found after going missing in Japan was on a ‘decompression’ hike - BERITAJA

An Auburn University student who died successful Japan aft going disconnected connected a solo hike distant from his family enjoyed agelong strolls for “decompression” and wouldn’t person wanted to harm himself, a family friend said Monday.

James “Weston” Higginbotham, 20, was past seen astatine the Kyoto train position connected May 29 before unpaid searchers recovered his assemblage in the mountains just extracurricular the ancient metropolis connected Saturday.

Higginbotham was walking pinch his parents erstwhile he sewage into an statement pinch his mother complete her usage of ChatGPT during the vacation. After the statement he walked away, his mother, Nancy Higginbotham, antecedently said.

While hiking astatine nighttime successful a overseas onshore mightiness look overseas to many, longtime neighbour and family friend Audrey Daniels said Higginbotham knew what he was doing.

“He was decidedly an knowledgeable hiker and that was a mode of decompression for him arsenic well,” Daniels, 23, told Beritaja connected Monday.

Daniels and different family friend, Jennifer Harper Bowen, some said they don’t judge Higginbotham would person sought to harm himself.

“He was upset and he wanted space, truthful I don’t deliberation he turned his telephone disconnected because he didn’t want to beryllium found. He turned his telephone disconnected because he was upset,” Bowen, 39, whose boy besides studies astatine Auburn, said.

“I don’t deliberation he intentionally ran distant aliases tried to harm himself aliases thing for illustration that. I deliberation this is conscionable a very bad group of circumstances and very bad timing.”

Foul play is not suspected, but a constabulary charismatic pinch the authority to remark could not beryllium reached by Beritaja connected Sunday and Monday.

Higginbotham was wearing a “Save the Bees” T-shirt erstwhile he went missing.

“He had specified a large bosom for his friends and family, for strangers, and especially, of course, for the environment,” Daniels said. “So he was definitely, decidedly compassionate.”

The hunt for Higginbotham was delayed until Wednesday because of Typhoon Janmi. It is not clear erstwhile and really the Auburn student died but the typhoon brought sadistic elements, including flooding, landslides and blackouts to Kyoto.

Daniels said she’ll cherish her puerility memories of him.

“I’m going to retrieve him arsenic specified a nosy kid to beryllium around,” she said. “He was highly smart, highly well-rounded guy. Whenever he was astatine the house, it was specified a joyousness to spot him.”

The Auburn student studied biosystems engineering and was devoted to sustainable design, loved ones said.

Nancy Higginbotham described her boy arsenic a “pacifist” who wouldn’t moreover stomp connected spiders aliases insects successful their Hoover, Alabama, house, opting to transportation them outside.

The student was opposed to the increasing power of artificial intelligence and “he’s not wrong” and “feels very convicted about that,” she told Beritaja past week.

“And I conscionable kept for illustration hiding it from him passim the trip. I’d beryllium like, ‘Oh, look, I recovered an astonishing restaurant,’ and he knew I was utilizing ChatGPT,” the mom said.

“It conscionable was boiling successful him and he was like, ‘I conscionable request a break.’”

Hoover Mayor Nick Derzis called Higginbotham “a young man of singular character” pinch “a heavy emotion for the outdoors and the world about him.”

“He touched everyone who knew him,” the politician said in a statement. “His nonaccomplishment is simply a calamity felt crossed our full community.”