3 Dickinson State University women's softball players vanish in N.D.

[dan9999]

3 softball players vanish in N.D.
Friend dials 911 after calls from women requesting help, officials say
Tues., Nov . 3, 2009
AP

DICKINSON, N.D. - Authorities in 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.'"

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.

[dan9999]

Three North Dakota College Students Vanish After Frantic Call
Police Have Found No Trace of Dickinson State University Students
By SARAH NETTER

Authorities in North Dakota have made little progress in their search for three missing Dickinson State University students; their only lead is two cell phone calls that included "hysterical noises" the night the students vanished.

Photo: Authorities in North Dakota are searching for Ashley Neufeld, Kyrstin Gemar and Afton Williamson, who disappeared Sunday night.
(AP Photo/Courtesy Lenny Gemar/ABC)

Kyrstin Gemar, Ashley Neufeld and Afton Williamson, members of the Dickinson softball team, were last seen Sunday. The three friends were believed to have been stargazing in a rural farming area before they disappeared.

But police say 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.

Gemar's father, Lenny Gemar, told "Good Morning America" today that he has been told police do not suspect foul play.

From the call for help, he said, "it comes across as sounding more like an accident of some kind."

Dickinson Police Lt. Dave Wallace told the Associated Press that the calls came in less than one minute apart. But he did not say which of the women called or what exact words were used.

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

Gemar said the women would often meet up with friends near a lake and chat under the stars.

"That was something they would commonly do," he said. "It's a pretty small town, doesn't have a real active nightlife."