Families of 3 Dead North Dakota Students to Visit Pond Where Bodies Were Found

Nov. 4, 2009— -- The families of three North Dakota college students whose bodies were pulled from a rural pond Tuesday will visit the site today where their daughters died after placing frantic phone calls for help.

Police do no suspect foul play but say not known whether alcohol played a part in the deaths of Dickinson State University softball players Kyrstin Gemar, 22; Ashley Neufeld, 21;, and Afton Williamson, 20.

"It is too early to determine yet ... what actually happened and how it happened," Dickinson Police Lt. Rod Banyai told "Good Morning America" today.

Bev Neufeld, Ashley's mother, told "Good Morning America" that the pond where her daughter's body was found is disguised by tall grasses.

"It's virtually hidden," she said. "The vehicle could be in that entrapment before you realize it."

Lenny Gemar, Kyrstin's father, called Tuesday "the worst day of my life."

The women, reported missing Sunday night, were found in a Jeep after authorities found tire marks leading to the farm pond near where one of their cell phones last sent out a signal. They were believed to have been out stargazing the night they disappeared; stargazing is a popular activity in an area that doesn't offer much in the way of activities and nightlife.

"The phone call is actually what led to law enforcement finding them, because of the cell phone call they were able to do what's called a 'ping' off the tower," Banyai said. "It gave us at least a direction and an area to search in."

There was no indication that the women had tried to escape from the Jeep, he said.

The women's fellow Dickinson students were stunned by the news that their friends' bodies had been found.

"It's like losing family," softball team captain Sara Jane Webster said. "They are my sisters. I mean that."

Softball head coach Kristen Fleury said, "The three of them are above us right now, and they always will be; on the field, off the field, and for the rest of our lives."

Bev Neufeld said Dickinson State University was her daughter's family away from home.

"I can hear her voice in my head saying, 'Be strong, mom,'" Neufeld said, crying. " I just want everyone to know she was the most wonderful person in the world."

The women were devoted to their friends, their softball team and their studies.

"We found through the investigation, talking to friends and associates that they had ... they were good girls and good students at the college," Banyai said.

Missing Women Were Avid Softball Players

Police said one of the women placed two phone calls to a friend shortly before midnight, asking for help.

Authorities have said the women said something about water, and the friend reported hearing "hysterical noises" before the line went dead. The friend then called 911.

Banyai said today that little in the call was usable in determining how the students got into the pond. Most of the call consisted of scratchy noises with a few clear words in between.

"They needed help, and something about a lake and the water and the vehicle," Banyai said.

Gemar was from Grossmont, Calif., Williamson from Lake Elsinore, Calif., and Neufeld from Manitoba, Canada.

Gemar, her father said, was an avid softball player with a one-track mind.

"She lives for softball," Lenny Gemar said Tuesday morning. "I hate to say this, but school is secondary. She goes to school and gets good grades so she can play."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.