ND authorities search for 3 Dickinson St. students

[samanthajane13]

DICKINSON, N.D. – Authorities in southwestern North Dakota searched Monday for three Dickinson State University softball players reported missing after a friend received late night telephone calls that mentioned water and indicated the women needed help.

Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of Grossmont, Calif; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba in Canada were believed to be in a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California plates when they were last heard from late Sunday night, authorities said.

Dickinson Police Lt. Dave Wallace said a friend of the women received two telephone calls from them, about one minute apart, before the line cut out. The exact words used in the calls and exactly which of the women they came from were not immediately released.

"Some place in that conversation, water was mentioned. What that context is, is speculation," Wallace said Monday night.

The friend who received the calls then called 911 to report that the women needed help.

Authorities used three airplanes and officers on the ground Monday to search within in a 30-mile radius of the cell phone tower north of Dickinson where the call came through. The search included Lake Patterson near Dickinson, which is about 98 miles west of Bismarck and 63 miles east of the Montana state line.

The air search was called off after dark with plans to resume Tuesday.

"Investigators are in the field as we speak, continuing to do interviews with friends, family and associates," Wallace said. "Nothing has been confirmed at this point, where we can say, 'Yes, they were here at this point.'"

Wallace said relatives of the three women were expected in Dickinson by Tuesday.

Wallace refused to speculate on what might have happened and said nothing was being ruled out.

"Right now, we just have three missing young ladies," he said.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091103/ap_on_re_us/us_missing_students_north_dakota

[SaraSidle]

I hope their car is not in the lake. it does sound like some kind of accident.
something happened very quickly IMO

[SaraSidle]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/03/missing.students/index.html

another update. no one has been found yet.

[BeastofBears]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/11/03/missing.students/index.html

another update. no one has been found yet.

:( Poor kids. It sounds bad...

[BeastofBears]

Noooooooo, they found them dead in their car in a pond.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571526,00.html
:(
'
'
'

[BeastofBears]

Everybody, make sure your loved ones have a car escape hammer/seat belt cutter in their cars. :rose:

[SaraSidle]

Everybody, make sure your loved ones have a car escape hammer/seat belt cutter in their cars. :rose:

I was so afraid of that. I wonder if they tried opening the windows?

[samanthajane13]

Family visits pond where ND college students found
By BLAKE NICHOLSON, Associated Press Writer Blake Nicholson, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 33 mins ago

DICKINSON, N.D. – Teammates and family members threw roses and softballs Wednesday into the farm pond where three North Dakota college softball players were found dead inside their sunken sport utility vehicle.

But there were few answers to their most troublesome questions: exactly how did the women find themselves trapped in the water and how long did they suffer after frantically calling friends for help?

"I can't believe that my baby is gone. I miss her terribly. I'm just wondering ... What went through her mind while she was still alive in her last moment?" said Claire Gemar, of San Diego, whose 22-year-old daughter, Kyrstin, was among the three Dickinson State University students pulled from the small pond after signals from the phone calls helped lead authorities to the farm.

No foul play is suspected in the deaths Gemar; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba. The bodies of the women and Neufeld's dog were found inside the SUV Tuesday.

The women were believed to be on a stargazing trip Sunday night and authorities said they likely drove straight into the water in the dark. The pond is surrounded by high grass and shrubs off a narrow gravel road in a pasture north of Dickinson.

"In our minds, all of us have been reliving what we think they probably went through," said Gemar's father, Lenny.

Senior softball player Jody Lantz of St. Walburg, Saskatchewan, said she and fellow students came to the pond Wednesday "to understand it a little more, wrap our heads around it."

"It's going to be weird going onto the field and knowing that they're never going to be there," Lantz said.

Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said the women's SUV was found resting on its wheels Tuesday in about 10 feet of water with the doors and windows closed.

"When you're not familiar with an area like that it would have been very easy to drive into" the pond, Tuhy said. The sheriff said the students were on private property. He stopped short of saying they were trespassing.

The students were believed to be in the 1997 Jeep Cherokee when two of their friends received telephone calls late Sunday before the lines quickly went dead. Police described the first as a "very scratchy" call for help in which one of the students said they were near water.

Tuhy said the calls, which authorities were able to track to cell phone towers, were critical in leading searchers to the vehicle. He said it wasn't clear if emergency crews might have been able to reach the women had they called 911 instead of their friends.

Police Lt. Rod Banyai said authorities do not expect autopsy results for a week or two. The autopsies will help determine the exact cause of death and whether the women were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Authorities have said there is no indication they were. The North Dakota Highway Patrol also will examine the Jeep to determine if the vehicle malfunctioned, Banyai said.

Dickinson State University President Richard McCallum said classes were canceled Wednesday and a memorial service was scheduled on the 2,700-student campus Thursday. The Dickinson State staff distributed ribbons in school colors — dark blue and silver — in memory of the three students.

The university listed Gemar as a senior business major who played third base on the softball team. Neufeld was a senior outfielder working on a psychology degree, and Williamson, a junior, was a pitcher majoring in psychology with a minor in coaching.

"I have so many unanswered questions and thoughts," softball coach Kristen Fleury said.

Claire Gemar said Wednesday that she talked to her daughter Sunday afternoon and she could hear her two friends in the background. When she told her daughter goodbye, she remembered, "I said, 'Be safe.' She said, 'I will.'"

The Gemars said they hoped the women's deaths would remind people the importance of knowing their surroundings and letting others know where they are. In the meantime, Lenny Gemar said he knows where he daughter is now.

"We threw out last pitches to each of the girls," he said of the gathering at the pond. "That heavenly softball team someplace where we hope that they all are. We know they hit them out of the park."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091104/ap_on_sp_ot/us_missing_students_north_dakota

[samanthajane13]

Relatives mourn at ND pond where women found dead
By BLAKE NICHOLSON, Associated Press Writer Blake Nicholson, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 27 mins ago

DICKINSON, N.D. – Teammates and family members threw roses and softballs Wednesday into the farm pond where three North Dakota college softball players were found dead inside their sunken sport utility vehicle.

But there were few answers to their most troublesome questions: How did the women find themselves trapped in the water? How long did they suffer after frantically calling friends for help?

"I can't believe that my baby is gone. I miss her terribly. I'm just wondering ... What went through her mind while she was still alive in her last moment?" said Claire Gemar, of San Diego, whose 22-year-old daughter, Kyrstin, was among the three Dickinson State University students pulled from the small pond after signals from the phone calls helped lead authorities to the farm.

No foul play is suspected in the deaths Gemar; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba. The bodies of the women and Neufeld's dog were found inside the SUV Tuesday.

The women were believed to be on a stargazing trip Sunday night and authorities said they likely drove straight into the water in the dark. The pond is surrounded by high grass and shrubs off a narrow gravel road in a pasture north of Dickinson.

"In our minds, all of us have been reliving what we think they probably went through," said Gemar's father, Lenny.

Senior softball player Jody Lantz of St. Walburg, Saskatchewan, said she and fellow students came to the pond Wednesday "to understand it a little more, wrap our heads around it."

"It's going to be weird going onto the field and knowing that they're never going to be there," Lantz said.

Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy said the women's SUV was found resting on its wheels Tuesday in about 10 feet of water with the doors and windows closed.

"When you're not familiar with an area like that it would have been very easy to drive into" the pond, Tuhy said. The sheriff said the students were on private property. He stopped short of saying they were trespassing.

The students were believed to be in the 1997 Jeep Cherokee when two of their friends received telephone calls late Sunday before the lines quickly went dead. Police described the first as a "very scratchy" call for help in which one of the students said they were near water.

Tuhy said the calls, which authorities were able to track to cell phone towers, were critical in leading searchers to the vehicle. He said it wasn't clear if emergency crews might have been able to reach the women had they called 911 instead of their friends.

Police Lt. Rod Banyai said authorities do not expect autopsy results for a week or two. The autopsies will help determine the exact cause of death and whether the women were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Authorities have said there is no indication they were. The North Dakota Highway Patrol also will examine the Jeep to determine if the vehicle malfunctioned, Banyai said.

Dickinson State University President Richard McCallum said classes were canceled Wednesday and a memorial service was scheduled on the 2,700-student campus Thursday. The Dickinson State staff distributed ribbons in school colors — dark blue and silver — in memory of the three students.

The university listed Gemar as a senior business major who played third base on the softball team. Neufeld was a senior outfielder working on a psychology degree, and Williamson, a junior, was a pitcher majoring in psychology with a minor in coaching.

"I have so many unanswered questions and thoughts," softball coach Kristen Fleury said.

Claire Gemar said Wednesday that she talked to her daughter Sunday afternoon and she could hear her two friends in the background. When she told her daughter goodbye, she remembered, "I said, 'Be safe.' She said, 'I will.'"

The Gemars said they hoped the women's deaths would remind people the importance of knowing their surroundings and letting others know where they are. In the meantime, Lenny Gemar said he knows where he daughter is now.

"We threw out last pitches to each of the girls," he said of the gathering at the pond. "That heavenly softball team someplace where we hope that they all are. We know they hit them out of the park."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091105/ap_on_sp_ot/us_missing_students_north_dakota