Three DSU Students-Dickinson, North Dakota,Missing 11/2/09(Found Deceased)

[klaasend]

Three DSU Students Missing
Andrew Keller
11/2/2009

The three missing women have been identified as Afton Williamson, 20, Ashley Neufeld, 21, and Kyrston Gemar, 22. Police say the three called a friend, who was the last person to hear from them.

"She got the call, they were talking something about water, and there were hysterical voices in the background," said Stark County Sheriff Clarence Tuhy.

That friend contacted authorities at 11:45 Sunday night. The Sheriff said the three did not say where they were. Police investigated through the night and this morning and made a reverse 9-1-1 call to Stark, Dunn, and Billings Counties, reaching about 7,000 people.

"Please be on the lookout for a White, 1997 Jeep Cherokee, with California plates 3UBN521. The vehicle has possibly three female occupants. Please check areas around water, dams, lakes, and rivers. If located or any information, please contact the Stark County Sheriff`s Office at 456-7610," was the automated message sent to residents.

At about the same time the call was sent out, a plane went up to search for the three women.

"Right now, we don`t even know where we`re supposed to be looking at. We are trying to target a big area, an area where we think they might be at, but as far as anything else," said Tuhy.

Guy Fridley coached two of them last year before he resigned as the Dickinson State Softball coach.

"They`re top-notch kids. The first thing that goes through your mind is disbelief. You don`t believe something like that to happen, especially to kids you`ve grown close to for three years," said Fridley.

For Dickinson State Students, it`s the same concern.

"This is pretty scary, to know it can hit this close to home. It just doesn`t seem like it should happen around here," said DSU student Marc Zingarelli.

"We hope the students are found and they`re found to be safe, and our thoughts, and our prayers, go to the students, families, and friends," said DSU President Richard McCallum.

Sheriff Tuhy says teams have searched Patterson Lake and some lakes north of Dickinson. The investigation has been handed over to Dickinson Police. Police Chief Chuck Rummel says the air search has been suspended for tonight and will resume Tuesday morning. If you have any information, contact the Dickinson Police Department at 456-7759.

[klaasend]

http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/article_453d6570-c809-11de-bffd-001cc4c002e0.html







Three DSU athletes missing

   

By CINDY PETERSON Bismarck Tribune | Posted: Monday, November 2, 2009 11:30 pm | (2) Comments



The Dickinson State University athletic department experienced a great weekend - until 11:49 p.m. on Sunday.

On Saturday, the school's football team climbed atop the Dakota Athletic Conference Standings with a win over Minot State. Later that night, the women's basketball team knocked off defending NAIA national champ and top-ranked Morningside.

But the mood changed on Sunday night. Three of the school's softball players were reported missing following an alarming cell phone call.

The missing women are Kyrstin Gemar, 22, Ashley Neufeld, 21, and Afton Williamson, 20. Gemar is from Grossmont, Calif.; Neufeld is from Brandon, Manitoba; and Williamson is from Lake Elsinore, Calif.

The women, who are believed to have been traveling in a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee, phoned a friend late Sunday to ask for help, but then the line went dead. The friend then called 911.

The search for the missing women has been in a 30-mile radius, based on a cell tower north of Dickinson that the last known call went through.

Stark County sheriff Clarence Tuhy confirmed that there was a mention of "water" in the call for help.

An aerial search has been conducted that has looked at Patterson Lake and other water bodies in the area.

Tuhy said the investigation has been turned over to the Dickinson Police Department because all three women were residents of the city of Dickinson.

Tuhy said the Civil Air Patrol, the North Dakota Highway Patrol, Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Stark County Emergency Management and neighboring counties have assisted in the investigation.

"We called out the planes for searching," Tuhy said. "We've come to a dead end and have turned it over to the Dickinson Police Department."

All three women have cell phones, and recent incoming phone calls have gone directly to voicemail, Tuhy said.

Tuhy has asked that the public not form its own search parties. If somebody were to spot the missing vehicle, they should report it to the Dickinson Police Department or the Stark County Sheriff's Department.

Tuhy explained the reason why the residents searching on their own is a bad idea:

"The reason is we don't know who is out there looking and where they are going and searching," Tuhy said. "We could end up looking for more people. It's not organized and everybody goes in separate directions. We're doing what we can. If we need more assistance, we will be happy and willing to ask for it.

"But they're going to go out there, and there is no way we can stop them."

The softball team finished last season at 42-5 overall and placed third at the NAIA national tournament.

Gemar, a third baseman, collected a batting average of .475 last season. She batted in 38 runs and hit 10 home runs in 38 games played.

Neufeld, an outfielder, played in 29 games last season, compiling a batting average of .314 and collecting 16 RBIs.

Williamson is a transfer from Riverside Community College in Riverside, Calif.

Dickinson State athletic director Roger Ternes said the school will have counselors available if anybody should need them.

Ternes said he met with the Dickinson State athletic staff and the student athletes involved with softball.

"We haven't had a campus-wide meeting at this point," he said. "It's a wait-and-see thing. We don't know how far to take this until we find out what's going on. We're all concerned - with good reason."

University of Mary second baseman/outfielder Jenna Button grew up with Williamson and went to high school with her.

"It's scary because there are so many different things that could have happened," said Button, a sophomore. "I want to pray and hope for the best."

Button, who said she would be willing to go to Dickinson to help search if needed, talked to Williamson on Friday. Button said Williamson and some friends were in Bismarck on Friday night for a movie.

"She's one of the happiest people," Button said. "She's always smiling. She loves playing softball, and she's a very hard worker. She always has a smile on her face, especially when she's on the field."

[klaasend]

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,571222,00.html

Father of Missing College Student Says Players Often Went to Lake to Star Gaze

Tuesday , November 03, 2009

AP
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DICKINSON, N.D.  —
The father of one of three missing college softball players said Tuesday the women often went star gazing near a lake in southwestern North Dakota and police do not suspect foul play in their disappearances.

Lenny Gemar told ABC's "Good Morning America" in a telephone interview that the Dickinson State University students would hang out by Patterson Lake near the city and "just look up at the stars and, you know, chat about the things that teenagers will chat about."

Police have refused to speculate on what might have happened to Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of Grossmont, Calif.; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba in Canada. The women were believed to be in a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California plates when they were last heard from late Sunday night, authorities said.

Dickinson Police Lt. Dave Wallace has said a friend of the women received two telephone calls from them, about one minute apart, before the line cut out on Sunday. The exact words used in the calls and exactly which of the women they came from were not immediately released.

Wallace said water was mentioned in the conversation but the context was not clear. The friend who received the calls called 911 to report that the women needed help.

Authorities searched a 30-mile radius of the cell phone tower north of Dickinson where the calls came through on Monday using three airplanes and officers on the ground. The search included Patterson Lake just southwest of Dickinson, a city of 16,000 people about 100 miles west of Bismarck and 60 miles east of the Montana state line.

The air search was called off after dark. Police Officer Thomas Grosz said the search was likely to resume early Tuesday. He did not immediately know how many people it might involve.

Lenny Gemar said he and his wife arrived in North Dakota late Monday night to try to help find his daughter, Kyrstin, and her teammates. He said they were met at the airport by a university official and updated on the case and investigators' efforts.

"They haven't found anything that I'm aware of," he said. "No tire tracks, no clothing ... nothing at all to give us any indication where the girls ended up."

Gemar said he had not spoken with the friend who said she received the distress calls, but it didn't seem like the girls were being attacked.

"There was nothing to indicate that there was an assailant or anything like that going on," he said. "It just comes across as sounding more like an accident of some kind."

[Mere]

Canadian among missing in North Dakota

 Ashley Neufeld of Brandon, man., is one of three Dickinson State University softball players reported missing.
Dustin Monke/The Dickinson Press/AP

Friend receives late night telephone calls that indicated women needed help and mentioned water
 


 

Canadian among missing college softball players
  Article   Video   Comments (15)  Dickinson, N.D. — Associated Press
Published on Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009 12:22AM EST
 
Last updated on Tuesday, Nov. 03, 2009 1:39PM EST
 

The father of one of three missing college softball players said the women often went star gazing near a lake in southwestern North Dakota and police do not suspect foul play in their disappearances.

Lenny Gemar told ABC's Good Morning America in a telephone interview that the Dickinson State University students would hang out by Patterson Lake near the city and “just look up at the stars and, you know, chat about the things that teenagers will chat about.”

Police have refused to speculate on what might have happened to Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba; Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of Grossmont, Calif.; and Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.. The women were believed to be in a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California plates when they were last heard from late Sunday night, authorities said.


In these three undated photos provided by Dickenson State University, missing students, from left, Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of Grossmont, Calif., Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba in Canada, and Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif. are shown. (AP Photo/Dickenson State University)


Dickinson Police Lt. Dave Wallace has said a friend of the women received two telephone calls from them, about one minute apart, before the line cut out on Sunday. The exact words used in the calls and exactly which of the women they came from were not immediately released.

Mr. Wallace said water was mentioned in the conversation but the context was not clear. The friend who received the calls called 911 to report that the women needed help.

Authorities searched the area around the cell phone tower north of Dickinson where the calls came through on Monday using three airplanes and officers on the ground. The search included Patterson Lake just southwest of Dickinson, a city of 16,000 people, east of the Montana state line.

The air search was called off after dark. Police Officer Thomas Grosz said the search was likely to resume early today. He did not immediately know how many people it might involve.

Lenny Gemar said he and his wife arrived in North Dakota late Monday night to try to help find his daughter, Kyrstin, and her teammates. He said they were met at the airport by a university official and updated on the case and investigators' efforts. “They haven't found anything that I'm aware of,” he said. “No tire tracks, no clothing ... nothing at all to give us any indication where the girls ended up.”

Mr. Gemar said he had not spoken with the friend who said she received the distress calls, but it didn't seem like the girls were being attacked.

“There was nothing to indicate that there was an assailant or anything like that going on,” he said. “It just comes across as sounding more like an accident of some kind.”


Entire article with pictures.....
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/canadian-among-3-students-missing-in-north-dakota/article1349048/
 

[Mere]

Home U.S.  DICKINSON, N.D., Nov. 3, 2009
3 Students Missing in North Dakota
Search on after Friend Receives Calls Asking for Help

(CBS/AP)  Authorities in southwestern North Dakota searched Monday for three Dickinson State University softball players reported missing after a friend received late night telephone calls that mentioned water and indicated the women needed help.

Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of Grossmont, Calif; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba in Canada were believed to be in a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California plates when they were last heard from late Sunday night, authorities said.

Dickinson Police Lt. Dave Wallace said a friend of the women received two telephone calls from them, about one minute apart, before the line cut out. The exact words used in the calls and exactly which of the women they came from were not immediately released.

"Some place in that conversation, water was mentioned. What that context is, is speculation," Wallace said Monday night.

The friend who received the calls then called 911 to report that the women needed help.

Authorities used three airplanes and officers on the ground Monday to search within in a 30-mile radius of the cell phone tower north of Dickinson where the call came through. The search included Lake Patterson near Dickinson, which is about 98 miles west of Bismarck and 63 miles east of the Montana state line.

The air search was called off after dark with plans to resume Tuesday.

"Investigators are in the field as we speak, continuing to do interviews with friends, family and associates," Wallace said. "Nothing has been confirmed at this point, where we can say, 'Yes, they were here at this point."'

Kyrstin Gemar's father, Lenny Gemar, told ABC's "Good Morning America" in a telephone interview on Tuesday that the girls often went star gazing in the Dickinson area, and that police do not suspect foul play in the disappearance.

Wallace said relatives of the three women were expected in Dickinson by Tuesday.

Wallace refused to speculate on what might have happened and said nothing was being ruled out.

"Right now, we just have three missing young ladies," he said.

Entire article with pictures.....
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/11/03/national/main5507827.shtml

[Mere]

From the Dickinson Press, Dickinson, ND

Published November 03 2009
More information released on disappearance
Three students who are missing are also traveling with a small dog, according to a press release from the Dickinson Police Department sent this morning.

Three students who are missing are also traveling with a small dog, according to a press release from the Dickinson Police Department sent this morning.

Authorities are asking residents to be on the lookout for Kyrstin Gemar, 22, Ashley Neufeld, 21, and Afton Williamson, 20, who all play softball for Dickinson State University. They are believed to have been driving a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California license plate number 3UBN521.

They were last heard from 11:18 p.m. Sunday night when one of the women called a friend. One minute later a woman called again and the call lasted about 30 seconds. Their phones have been dead and they haven't been heard from since. The call was linked to north of Dickinson.
There have been reports of the women in the Killdeer area but none have been confirmed, according to police.

A press conference is being held shortly after 10 this morning.

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/29006/group/home/

[Mere]

I don't have the background for My Space or Facebook.  Perhaps someone who does could check their names and see what is happening.

Or perhaps post a map of the area.

This small North Dakota town is the home of my ex-husband's family.  It is a close knit community.
From visits years ago...nice people....homes and farm land....and water near-by...both lakes and a river I believe. 

Did anyone hear a press conference this morning?

[Edward]

All I know is what has been said..

It is not looking so good at this point..

[Mere]

Police: Lake search finds no trace of ND students By BLAKE NICHOLSON, AP

posted: 31 MINUTES AGO

DICKINSON, N.D. -Dive teams found no trace of three missing college softball players during a search Tuesday of a North Dakota lake where the women often went star gazing as authorities focused on tracing two cell phone calls made just before the three disappeared.

Police have refused to speculate on what might have happened to Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of San Diego; Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, Calif.; and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba in Canada. The women were believed to be in a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California plates when they were last heard from late Sunday night, authorities said.

Two friends of the Dickinson State University students received telephone calls late Sunday night before the lines went dead. 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.

Dickinson Police Lt. Dave Wallace said the calls came from two different phones, but authorities are not sure how many phones were in the vehicle. Authorities were trying to work with the local cell phone company to try to pin down the locations of where the calls were made, police said.

One of the friends who received the calls called 911 to report that the women needed help, police said. Foul play was not suspected in their disappearance but was not being ruled out, police said.

"I think I'm still in the shock phase," Kyrstin Gemar's father, Lenny, said Tuesday during a news conference at police headquarters. "It's really tough, especially not knowing. That's the hardest part."
Gemar said his wife, Clare, talked to their daughter late Saturday night but there was no indication that anything was wrong. He said it was not uncommon for his daughter and her friends to go star gazing on the spur of the moment.

Neufeld's father, Phil, declined comment other than to say the "cooperation and support is amazing here."

A dive team searched Patterson Lake, where the students often went to look at stars, and found nothing, Wallace said. The lake is located southwest of Dickinson, a city of 16,000 people about 100 miles west of Bismarck and 60 miles east of the Montana state line.

Police also said they searched the women's rooms and were interviewing their classmates, friends and people near Killdeer, north of Dickinson.

"From what we're finding out, these are three very good girls and this is uncommon that they would do something like this," said police Lt. Rod Banyai. Authorities notified Canadian border officials and were told that the Jeep had not crossed the border, he said.

At Dickinson State, where the women were stars on the school's softball team, the mood on campus was "apprehensive" but also "guardedly optimistic," said the university's Vice President Hal Haynes. Students at the 2,700-student school led a prayer service Monday night that drew more than 300 people, he said.

"People are hopeful and doing whatever is possible to aid in this effort to find these three young ladies," he said.

The college lists Gemar as a senior business major who played third base on the softball team. Neufield is a senior outfielder who is working on a degree in psychology, and Williamson, a junior, is a pitcher majoring in psychology with a minor in coaching.

"It's scary. It's just a numbing feeling that you have for those kids. There's just so many questions — you're almost speechless because you don't know much," Dickinson State softball coach Guy Fridley said.

http://news.aol.com/article/police-lake-search-finds-no-trace-of-nd/750039

[Mere]

CNN Headline News is covering this case, and Jane Velez Mitchell was interviewed and will have whatever information is available on her program at 7 p.m. EST.

[Edward]

The fact that not one of 3 cell phones works says volumes.

Maybe they are stuck in a canyon far away from this spot ??

Hope for the best..

[Jennifer34]

Sounds like a car accident based on the info. released this far.  Makes me wonder why at least one of the two different callers didnt call 911 instead of a friend.  Maybe it was easier or faster to hit "last call" if it was an emergency situation?  Poor parents.  Hope they find them soon.  Scary at all the missing young people.

[klaasend]

http://www.myspace.com/14112703

[klaasend]

Ashley

http://www.myspace.com/109040094

[Leroy]

Police: 3 ND college students found dead in pond
November 3rd, 2009 @ 5:25pm
By BLAKE NICHOLSON
Associated Press Writer


DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) - Police say three missing North Dakota college softball players have been found dead in their vehicle, which was pulled from a pond northwest of Dickinson.

Police Lt. Rod Banyai said Tuesday night that police are "still investigating" the cause of the deaths.

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.

The Dickinson State University students were said to be in a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California plates when they were last heard from in calls made to two friends on cell phones before the lines went dead.

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=157&sid=8535834

[San]

THREE MISSING NORTH DAKOTA COLLEGE SOFTBALL PLAYERS FOUND DEAD IN VEHICLE, POLICE SAY

Read More:
http://email.foxnews.com/t?ctl=20C9:B706EEACFAA79DF7AF8208CFDF36F437&

[trimmonthelake]

Thanks San.I just heard this on the news.   

[MuffyBee]

I'm so sorry for the three young ladies, their families and friends.   

[trimmonthelake]

http://www.thedickinsonpress.com/event/article/id/29016/
3 DSU students found dead
Authorities said three Dickinson State University students who have been missing since late Sunday night were found dead at about 3 p.m. today. They were in Kyrstin Gemar's Jeep which was submerged in a stock pond northwest of Dickinson.

Searchers found the vehicle at about 4:25 p.m. today after seeing tracks leading to the pond, which is about 12-feet deep.

"The scene is still being investigated," Dickinson Police Lt. Rod Banyai said.

Gemar, 22, Ashley Neufeld, 21, and Afton Williamson, 20, who all play softball for DSU, were missing and last heard from Sunday night.

[Nut44x4]

This is very sad news and exactly what I feared. How very sad 
I am glad they were found though. Many of us can only imagine the Hell of not knowing...