Techniques described herein provide for identification of a mobile device that belongs to an observed pedestrian, by a vehicle. According to embodiments, a vehicle can receive a mobile device message including a first set of pedestrian-identifying features, and the vehicle can use vehicle sensor data to extract a second set of pedestrian-identifying features for an observed pedestrian. If the features match, the vehicle can determine that the observed pedestrian is in possession of the mobile device, and the vehicle can subsequently communicate with the mobile device as needed regarding the status of the pedestrian.