3 North Dakota students found dead; foul play not suspectedfrom CNN.com
The bodies of three students at a North Dakota university who had been missing since Sunday were found Tuesday in a vehicle submerged in a pond near their school, police said.
The discovery came Tuesday afternoon after a search team found tire tracks leading to a stock pond for cattle five miles northwest of Dickinson, North Dakota, Lt. William Leach of the Stark County Sheriff's Office told CNN. The investigators found a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California tags containing the bodies, he said.
Foul play is not suspected, he said.
The Dickinson State University softball players -- Kyrstin Gemar, 22, a senior who owned the car; Afton Williamson, 20, a junior; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, a senior -- had last been reported seen about 10:45 p.m. Sunday, according to CNN affiliate KXMB.
At 11:18 p.m. and 11:19 p.m., teammates received two distress calls from the women during which they mentioned water and a lake, said Connie Walter, Dickinson director of university relations.
After the calls ended abruptly, the teammates contacted law enforcement and the search began.
At 12:07 a.m. Monday, a "ping" on a tower from one of the students' cell phones was traced to a cell tower five miles northeast of Dickinson and authorities concentrated their search in that area, officials said.
