North Dakota Softball Players Dead Found, Dickinson State Softball
North Dakota Softball Players Dead Found, Dickinson State Softball:Classes were cancelled Wednesday at Dickinson State University in honour of three young softball players from the school who died after they drove into a pond in North Dakota.
U.S. authorities said Wednesday they believe the three women, including one Canadian, likely didn’t see the pond before they drove their vehicle into it.
The three students — Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Man., Afton Williamson, 20, and Kyrstin Gemar, 22, both of California — were found dead at about 3 p.m. Tuesday, two days after they went missing.
They were in Ms. Gemar’s Jeep, which was found submerged in a pond northwest of Dickinson, about 550 kilometres southwest of Winnipeg. An oil slick on the water and tire tracks prompted investigators to search the water, which is about 3.7 metres deep.
We found a set of wheel tracks going into the water,” said Stark County Police sheriff Clarence Tuhy, at a news conference Wednesday morning. “The windows were all closed.
Sheriff Tuhy said he didn’t know whether the women tried to get out of the vehicle. He said the area was very dark at night and it would have been easy not to see the pond.
They had been missing since late Sunday night.
Ms. Gemar, Ms. Neufeld and Ms. Williamson, all students at Dickinson State University, were believed to have been on a stargazing trip when one of the women called a friend for help at around 11:18 p.m. local time Sunday.
Police said the call lasted 40 seconds. Then, a minute later, another call was made that lasted about 30 seconds and at that time.
Authorities searched the ground and air Monday until dark but found no evidence of the students. They resumed the hunt Tuesday.
Kyrstin Gemar’s father Lenny told Fox News on Tuesday that new information from a wireless carrier helped investigators narrow their search.
“There were calls made from two different girls to two different girls,” said Lenny Gemar. “It was very apparent from both calls that there was some kind of an emergency.”
Investigators say foul play is not suspected.
Ms. Neufeld attended school in Brandon, where she played softball. A talented athlete, she was playing softball in the U.S. on a scholarship.
Dickinson State University has also offered grief counselling to its 2,700 students.
The Dickinson State University website states Ms. Neufeld was studying psychology and mathematics. An outfielder, she was an All-Conference performer in 2008 and 2007.
Read more: http://www.nationalpost.com/news/canada/story.html?id=2178116#ixzz0VucQY1WJ
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