Missing Auburn Student Found Dead After Vanishing During Japan Trip

An Auburn University junior who disappeared while traveling with family in Japan has been found dead ... bringing a devastating end to a week-long search effort.

James "Weston" Higginbotham -- a 20-year-old biosystems engineering student -- was found by a volunteer search-and-rescue group in a mountainous area outside Kyoto, according to a Facebook post by his parents Saturday.

"Our family is heartbroken to share that Weston was found deceased," they wrote ... adding, "The grief we feel is impossible to put into words."

Weston vanished May 29, and authorities traced his last known movements to Kyoto's Yamashina area ... where investigators believed he may have gone hiking before losing contact.

Before he disappeared, Weston and his mother had a disagreement over her use of ChatGPT to help plan the family's trip, according to his parents.

His disappearance sparked a large-scale search involving local authorities, rescue crews, volunteers and family members ... while thousands of people across the United States and Japan shared his story online in hopes of helping bring him home.

In their statement, Weston's parents thanked the countless supporters who prayed for their family and assisted in search efforts, saying the outpouring of support helped carry them through "the darkest days of our lives."