DICKINSON - After a day and a half of searching on ground and in air, rescue teams found three Dickinson State University softball players dead in a vehicle submerged in a stock pond northwest of Dickinson.

Searchers on the ground found tracks leading into a stock pond with oil residue on the surface at 2:45 MST Tuesday, and air searchers could see a white object in the pond. At 4:45 p.m., rescue teams pulled Kyrstin Gemar's white 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee from the pond.

Gemar, 22, and her teammates, Ashley Neufeld, 21, and Afton Williamson, 20, were dead when the Jeep was pulled from the water.

The three women were reported missing late Sunday night after calling a friend for help at 11:17 p.m. and 11:18 p.m. During the scratchy call, the caller mentioned water, police said.

Air searches were conducted throughout Monday and Tuesday by the North Dakota Highway Patrol, the Civil Air Patrol and the North Dakota National Guard. Numerous area agencies, including police and sheriff's departments, were involved in ground searches, which Dickinson Police Lt. Rod Banyai said involved vehicles, ATVs and people on foot.

"I don't have the exact numbers that were on the ground," Banyai said.

Though police initially focused on the Patterson Lake area near Dickinson, a forensic cell phone examiner determined that the emergency calls Sunday night were placed north of Dickinson. Banyai said that information helped narrow the search, ultimately leading to the discovery of the Jeep in the approximately 12-foot-deep pond.

Banyai said it was too early to consider the incident an accident, though foul play is not suspected. At the news conference held to announce the discovery of the women at 5 p.m. MST, Banyai said investigators were still on scene. He could not give specific information about the location of the stock pond.

"It's a couple miles, probably, off a main road," he said. "I haven't been on the scene."

Investigations will continue into the incident, Banyai said. He said the Jeep will be inspected, and autopsies will be performed.

The story captured the attention of national media outlets, with television and radio networks from across the country clamoring for information. As news of the women's disappearances spread, so did rumors of what may have happened to them. Early reports had them being found dead near Mandaree, while later ones said they were found north of South Heart.

Gov. John Hoeven released a statement Tuesday night expressing sympathies to the women's families and appreciation for all that participated in the search.

Friends believe Gemar, Neufeld and Williamson were on a star gazing trip Sunday night, which was not unusual for them. Banyai said it was unknown who was driving the vehicle when it went into the water.

He was uncertain if a lhasa apso dog reported to be with the girls was found in the Jeep with them, though he presumed it was.

The parents of the three women arrived in Dickinson as quickly as they could upon learning of their daughters' disappearances, Gemar's father, Lenny Gemar, said Tuesday morning. The families were not available for comment Tuesday night.

"As expected, they took it pretty hard," Banyai said.

Lenny Gemar, speaking hours before the women were found, said he and the other parents were still in shock over the disappearance.

"The difficult part for me is not having any idea what that issue might have been" that led to the calls for help, he said.

He said his wife, Claire, last spoke to Kyrstin Gemar around midnight on Halloween (Saturday). The Gemars live in San Diego.

"They just chatted a little while," he said.

Neufeld's father, Phil Neufeld, said Tuesday morning his daughter e-mailed her parents on Sunday, and she sent text messages to her mother. The Neufelds live in Brandon, Manitoba. Phil Neufeld, near tears, said the situation was "tough."

Constance Walter, director of university relations, said the girls were instrumental on the softball team and in the university community.

"We are deeply saddened by this turn of events," she said.

"They were very popular young ladies, good students," Hal Haynes, vice president for student development said.

The school planned to hold a previously scheduled prayer service at 7 p.m. MST Tuesday. Walter said students were being informed of the news of the women's deaths via e-mail and an emergency notification system.

Counselors will be available for students, faculty and staff, Walter said.

David Irving, a student at DSU from Alexandria, Va., said a prayer service also was held Monday night. He knew Neufeld through friends and described her as "very outgoing ... nice person." A conference room was filled during the Monday night service, he said.

"I think everybody's just in shock," he said.

Gemar's boyfriend, Tatenda Nhamu, spoke briefly with reporters several hours before police found the women. He said he was "confused" and waiting for information like everyone else.

"I'm just devastated," he said.

Gemar and Neufeld were members of the DSU fastpitch softball team that finished 42-5 and took third place in the NAIA national tournament last spring. Williamson had transferred to DSU from Riverside Community College in California at the beginning of the fall semester.

Lenny Gemar said his daughter was the clean-up hitter for the team last season and tied a teammate for a home run record. He said she did a "bang-up job" at Grossmont Community College prior to transferring to DSU. She hit .475 last season, with 38 RBIs and 10 home runs, while earning All-DAC honors. The school Web site says she was majoring in business with a minor in human resource management.

"I was really proud of her," he said.

Phil Neufeld said his daughter was a speedy outfielder. She hit .314 last season, with 16 RBIs. She was an All-DAC performer in 2007 and 2008. The school Web site says she was a psychology major and was taking a minor in mathematics.

Williamson was a psychology major with a coaching minor, the school's Web site said. She was a pitcher. Her parents were not available for comment Tuesday.

Sondra Diaz, Williamson's softball coach at Paloma Valley High School in Menifee, a nearby community to Lake Elsinore, Calif., said the young woman's former teammates were saddened by the loss.

"It is just so sad for her and her family," Diaz said. "There are no words. It's just such a horrible thing to think about what happened to them. It is so unfortunate. She had worked so hard to get where she got and was so excited to play for them (Dickinson State University)."

"She's just a good person," Williamson's friend Lindsay Monk said hours before searchers found the bodies of Williamson and her friends. "She doesn't deserve to have things end this way. She has been through a lot and she just deserves to come out of this and be happy, be OK."

(Reach reporter Jenny Michael at 250-8225 or jenny.michael@bismarcktribune.com. Tribune reporter Cindy Peterson and Teri Figueroa, a reporter from North County Times in California, contributed to this report.)