Missing N.D. college students found dead in vehicle

Police say three missing North Dakota college softball players have been found dead in their Jeep, which was pulled from a pond on a farm northwest of Dickinson.

Police Lt. Rod Banyai says police are still investigating the cause of the deaths but no crime is suspected.

Authorities have been searching since Sunday night for 22-year-old Kyrstin Gemar of San Diego; 20-year-old Afton Williamson of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and 21-year-old Ashley Neufeld of Brandon, Manitoba.

Police believe the Dickinson State University students were on a star gazing trip when their vehicle went into the pond, which was about 12 feet deep and about two miles off the main road. They believe the women made two desperate calls for help.

The women were last heard from in calls made to two friends on cell phones late Sunday night before the lines went dead.

Banyai said searchers on foot, following a grid pattern, found vehicle tracks leading into the pond this afternoon, and a plane flying overhead spotted something white in the water.

Banyai says the submerged vehicle was pulled from the pond about two hours later.

He says authorities don't know how it got into the pond or whether alcohol was involved, and those factors are part of the investigation.

Dickinson State spokeswoman Constance Walter says the campus is "deeply saddened" and will work with families and students.