The body of a missing Auburn University student has been found in a mountainous area outside Kyoto, Japan, according to the student's mother.

James Weston Higginbotham, 20, had been reported missing while in Japan. His mother announced on Facebook that search and rescue volunteers had located her son's body in the mountainous terrain near the historic Japanese city.

The circumstances surrounding Higginbotham's disappearance and death have not been detailed by authorities. It remains unclear how long the Auburn University student had been missing or what he was doing in Japan at the time of his disappearance.

Search and rescue teams had been actively looking for the young man in the area before his body was discovered. Local authorities have not yet released official statements regarding the investigation or cause of death.

The discovery brings closure to what had been an ongoing search effort involving volunteers in the region outside Kyoto, one of Japan's former imperial capitals located in the Kansai region.