Missing Auburn University Student’s Last Exchange with Friend
The best friend of a missing Auburn University student has shared their memorable final text conversation after they met in Tokyo during a family trip to Japan.
James “Weston” Higginbotham, 20, met up with Hiyu Shikari, 20, in Japan. They were close friends from their middle school days before Shikari relocated to Japan around 2019.
Their final meet-up was at a dinner in Shinjuku, a well-known tourist area in Tokyo, after Shikari had initially met Higginbotham and his family.
Shikari mentioned that she hadn’t spotted anything amiss with Higginbotham. In fact, he seemed quite excited about a trip she and her family were planning to celebrate her brother Grayton’s high school graduation.
He texted her on May 26 with a cheerful message: “Thank you so much….I’m enjoying my stay in Japan!!”
“If you have any trouble, please feel free to contact us at any time,” she replied.
Higginbotham responded with a heart emoji.
His phone last registered a call on Monday when Shikari reached out to see how the family vacation was going.
“Good evening! How is your stay?” he wrote, adding, “I hope you have a great time in Kyoto! Please let me know if you have any recommendations.”
Unfortunately, that message never got delivered, and there was no reply.
“We had a lovely time at a restaurant in Shinjuku,” Shikari remarked regarding their last encounter. “After that, I tried to contact him about his time in Kyoto. I was a bit anxious since I had been there a few weeks prior and encountered a typhoon.” That was when he had already gone missing, she noted.
“After meeting him, I wasn’t able to reach him. I’ve been trying my best to raise awareness.”
Higginbotham went hiking on May 29 and was last seen in Kyoto’s Yamashina district, recognized for its thick forests and mountain paths.
Nancy, his mother, shared that there had been some disagreement between them, particularly over her decision to use ChatGPT to plan their Japan trip, as he was concerned about the implications of AI on the environment.
Search efforts for Higginbotham were hampered by Tropical Storm Jammim, which hit the mainland from Okinawa, bringing winds of 125 mph and heavy rain on May 30. Rescue teams in Yamashina had to navigate through waist-high mud while searching for him.
“I viewed him as a best friend and a brother,” Shikari expressed. “He’s a genuinely kind person, and when we met, it felt like nothing had changed. We discussed everything from politics to AI and various global issues.”
