College Student Is Found Dead After Getting Into a Car She Mistook for Her Uber, Police Say

The police in Columbia, S.C., arrested a man on Saturday in connection with the killing of a 21-year-old college student who was last seen early Friday before she apparently got into a car that she mistook for an Uber she had called, the authorities said.

The police said at a news conference on Saturday night that the body of the woman, Samantha Josephson, was found Friday in a wooded area in Clarendon County. They said they believed that the man they had taken into custody, Nathaniel D. Rowland, 24, had recently lived nearby.

Mr. Rowland faced murder and kidnapping charges. He was arrested early Saturday when the police found him driving a car that resembled the one Ms. Josephson had entered, said William H. Holbrook, the chief of the Columbia Police Department. The police did not say whether there was any known connection between Ms. Josephson and Mr. Rowland.

The police did not share a possible motive for the killing, but Chief Holbrook asked the public to report any recent experiences of someone trying to “entice” them into a rideshare vehicle in the Five Points neighborhood, where Ms. Josephson was last seen at 2 a.m. on Friday getting into a black Chevrolet Impala.

Uber on Saturday directed questions about the case to the police.

The company said in a 2017 blog post that it had received reports “from cities across the country about rideshare scams.”

“Unauthorized individuals may pose as rideshare drivers and target people who appear to be distracted or impaired,” the company said at the time, when it started a public safety campaign directing passengers to check that the driver and car matched the information on their apps.

Ms. Josephson’s disappearance and the discovery of her body drew national attention, including from the University of South Carolina, where she was a student.

“Our prayers are with the family and friends of Samantha Josephson following the devastating news of her death,” Harris Pastides, the president of the university, said in a statement. “Times like these leave me searching for words of wisdom and comfort.”

The Township of Robbinsville, N.J., where Ms. Josephson’s family lives, said in a Facebook post on Saturday that its “thoughts, prayers, boundless grief and endless support” were with them.

Ms. Josephson lived with roommates in student housing, Chief Holbrook said. He said they reported her missing on Friday afternoon after they had been out together the night before but got separated and had not heard from her since.

Ms. Josephson’s body was found in a wooded area off a dirt road in Clarendon County by people who were hunting turkeys, Chief Holbrook said.

He said the police saw a black Chevrolet Impala around 3 a.m. on Saturday and that when they tried to stop the driver, Mr. Rowland, he got out and fled. He was arrested, and the police found blood on the car’s passenger seat and in the trunk that matched that of Ms. Josephson, the chief said.

He said they had also found liquid bleach, germicide wipes and window cleaner in the car.

The police did not say how they believe Ms. Josephson was killed.