Like many 21-year-olds, Samantha Josephson was enjoying a night out with friends on Thursday.
At around 1:30am on Friday morning, the University of South Carolina political science student decided she’d had enough, ordering an Uber to pick her up from the Bird Dog bar in Columbia, South Carolina, the Daily Gamecock reported.
CCTV footage shared by Columbia PD on Twitter from the night showed Samantha standing on the curb waiting for her ride share driver to arrive. Again, like many of us would’ve, she was on the phone, likely letting a loved one know she was on her way home.
She then got into the black Chevrolet Impala sedan she thought was her Uber. When her actual Uber arrived, it left after a few minutes when the driver couldn’t find her. Hours later, Samantha’s body was found by hunters dumped in bushland in nearby Claredon County.
Samantha’s father Seymour Josephson confirmed his daughter’s death in a Facebook post on Saturday, writing:
“It is with tremendous sadness and of a broken heart that I post this! I will miss and love my baby girl for the rest of life. Samantha is no longer with us but she will not be forgotten.”
“It is extremely hard to write this and post it but I love her with all my heart. I could continue to write about her but it kills me. I sit here and cry while looking at the picture and write this.”
Local authorities announced Josephson’s case is now being considered a homicide on Twitter, confirming suspect Nathaniel Rowland has been charged with murder and kidnapping over the young woman’s death.
Police were first alerted to the New Jersey student’s disappearance when her friends called 911 after they realised she hadn’t made it home, The New York Post reports.
The publication also said Samantha aspired to work for the United Nations and was getting ready to go to Drexel University Law School in Philadelphia after she graduated, before her life was taken way too soon.
A Go Fund Me has been set up to help Samantha’s family cover her funeral expenses.
Top Comments
I overheard some of my teenage female students conversation about one of them getting into the back of a car that they thought was an Uber. Luckily, the male driver told her that he was waiting for his daughter and that he wasn't an Uber. I told them that was really dangerous and not funny and to always check before they get in.