Campus police at the University of Southern Maine said a case of mistaken identity led a female student to report she was being followed by a suspicious driver on the Gorham campus Saturday morning.

Campus police identified the man in the vehicle as a Lyft driver who was looking for his fare, Ronald G. Saindon, the interim chief of police for USM’s Department of Public Safety, said in a statement Monday.

The female student, who reported the driver to campus police, was in the same area where another female student was supposed to meet the driver, Saindon said in the statement. The department’s investigation revealed that the Lyft driver mistook the student for his fare, the interim chief said.

After the incident became public – campus police issued a campus-wide alert over weekend – another student contacted campus police to let them know that she was waiting for her ride at the same time near the location where the other student reported the encounter, Bailey Hall on the Gorham campus. The Lyft driver and the physical description the student provided to police matched.

“At this time there is no longer reason to believe that there is any ongoing concern for the community,” Saindon said. “We wish to thank the community for its assistance in the investigation of this matter, and we remind all that that safety of our community is a shared responsibility.”

Lyft is a ridesharing company that uses an app to match people looking for a ride with a nearby driver.

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