A frantic day of searching for missing University of South Carolina student Samantha Josephson has ended in tragedy after it was announced she is dead.
Josephson, 21, went missing in Columbia, South Carolina early on Friday and was confirmed dead today by USC’s president.
The senior political science major’s father also confirmed the devastatingly sad news in a heart-wrenching Facebook post.
President Harris Pastides said in a statement:
It is with the heaviest of hearts that I write these words this morning. Our prayers are with the family and friends of Samantha Josephson following the devastating news of her death.
Samantha was last seen around 2am on Friday when she was leaving a night out with a group of friends in the Five Points area.
She’d been at Bird Dog, a local bar, alone and was spotted getting into a black Chevy Impala. She thought it was the Uber she’d ordered, a witness told the Daily Gamecock student paper.
Her actual Uber driver arrived just moment later and cancelled the ride when she didn’t show for the pick-up.
No one had been able to get in touch with her since.
Her father, Seymour Josephson, took to Facebook to say:
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.
Images released by the Columbia Police Department show the final image before she disappeared and the black Chevy pulling away with her inside.
She’d been in an orange shirt and black pants while talking on the phone but unfortunately the release of the images to the public could not save her life in time.
No information has yet been released about where Samantha’s body was found or her cause of death.
The Columbia Police Department is currently investigating but have yet to make any comment on what happened to Samantha.
Our thoughts go out to all her family, friends and classmates.
RIP Samantha.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Taking the idea of ‘being woke’ to a whole new level over a decade-long career in sport, court and online news, George has worked for titles and agencies including ESPN FC, Eurosport, LADbible and Court News UK. He may not have a degree but does have an unhealthy obsession with Lord of the Rings.