Three women were found dead Tuesday in a submerged vehicle northwest of Dickinson, N.D., where they attended university. The students — from left, Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of Grossmont, Calif., Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Man., and Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif. — had been missing since Sunday. (Dickinson State University/Associated Press)Three missing North Dakota college softball players, including 21-year-old Ashley Neufeld of Brandon, Man., were found dead Tuesday in a Jeep pulled from a pond two days after the women disappeared.

Lt. Rod Banyai of the Dickinson, N.D., police department, said officers are still investigating the cause of the deaths, and autopsies are planned.

Authorities had been searching since Sunday night for Neufeld, Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of San Diego and Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.

Banyai said the pond they were found in, on a farm northwest of Dickinson, is about four metres deep.

Searchers found vehicle tracks leading into the pond Tuesday afternoon, he said. Other searchers in an airplane flying over the site saw oil on top of the water. The submerged vehicle was pulled from the pond about two hours later.

"At this time, foul play is not suspected," Banyai said Tuesday night.

Investigators don’t yet know how the vehicle got into the pond, but it will be checked for defects, he said.

Banyai said he believes the women were in the vehicle when they made two cellphone calls to friends for help. He didn’t know whether the vehicle was already underwater when the calls were made.

He said "pings" — signals sent from a cellphone to a provider tower, or vice-versa, helped narrow the search area.

The Dickinson State University students were believed to be in the white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California plates when they were last heard from in brief cellphone calls made to two friends.

Police described the first as a “very scratchy” call for help in which one of the women said they were near a lake and water.

Lenny and Claire Gemar, Kyrstin's parents, had talked to her late Saturday night. It was not uncommon for Kyrstin and her friends to go stargazing on the spur of the moment, Lenny Gemar told a news conference at police headquarters before the bodies were found.

The families were not present when police announced the students' deaths.

Coached Neufeld for 6 years

In Brandon, people were devastated by the loss. Jim Nay coached Neufeld for more than six years, starting when she was about 12 years old. News of the tragedy left him with a feeling of "nothing but total devastation," he said.

She was a "fantastic" player and "a very, very outgoing person," Nay told The Canadian Press.

"Her work ethic was probably the strongest, her knowledge of the game was very superior," he said. "I've coached an awful lot of people from young boys through to adult men, from young girls through to adult women, and Ashley was probably one of the top two or three most knowledgeable people I have ever coached."

Nay said Neufeld also knew how to teach the game to younger people and connected with everyone she met. He said he expects a large funeral in Brandon.

"I don't know where they're going to house it here in Brandon, because I don't think there's a church going to be big enough to hold it. That's just what the love is for the family and for Ashley."

University pledges support

Students at Dickinson State, where the women were stars on the softball team, led a prayer service Monday night that drew more than 300 people. Another service was scheduled at the 2,700-student school for Tuesday night.

"We are very deeply saddened by this turn of events and we are going to mobilize all of our resources to work with the families and the students on campus," Dickinson State spokeswoman Constance Walter said. "They will be greatly missed by their teammates and others."

Members of the Dickinson State softball team hold hands during a prayer service for the three students on Monday. (AP Photo/Dustin Monke, The Dickinson Press)The college lists Gemar as a senior business major who played third base on the softball team. Neufeld was a senior outfielder who was working on a degree in psychology, and Williamson, a junior, was a pitcher majoring in psychology with a minor in coaching.

North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven issued a statement extending sympathy to the families and appreciation to those who helped with the search, "which ended in a way we all prayed it wouldn't."

View Larger Map With files from The Canadian Press