Video: Bodies of 3 North Dakota students found in jeep submerged in lake

November 4, 9:05 AMSalt Lake City Headlines ExaminerMarci Stone

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Ashley Neufeld, Kyrstin Gemar and Afton Williamson
Photo: Dickinson State University

The bodies of three female North Dakota students were found yesterday inside a jeep that was submerged in a pond. The police were able to track the last panicked phone calls made by the students to the area, and then found tire tracks that lead to the pond. They were found about five miles northwest of Dickinson, North Dakota.

Kyrstin Gemar, 22, Afton Williamson, 20, and Ashley Neufeld, 21, all softball players at Dickinson State University were last seen at about 11 pm on Sunday night.

At about 11:15 pm, teammates received panic cell phone calls from the students in which they mentioned water and being in a lake, the calls abruptly ended. Teammates called the police and a search ensued, on Monday the cell phone calls were traced to the general area of where the women were found. It is unknown why the students were there and how they ended up in a lake, or why they didn’t get out. But the windows were rolled up and all three bodies were inside, the jeep was in water about ten feet deep.

The local police said that they do not suspect foul play. Friends of the girls believe they were star gazing because people go to that area to do that.

Drowning in a car that is submerged in water is quite common, especially if the people in the car are not prepared for how to get out.  In September, a 19-year-old rescued a child trapped in a car that was submerged in water at Willard Bay, in Utah.  The car flipped over after an overcorrection on the freeway and landed in a canel with water.  Three children were able to get out with the help of an adult, but one was still in the car, and 19-year-old Todd Kanno from Utah was able to get the child out. 

Rick Sanchez from CNN made a video a few years ago that shows what to do if it happens to you, letting the car fill up with water (opening the windows), and then getting out through the window once the car is submerged is the best way to get out.  Water gets in even though the windows are up, and it is difficult to get the windows down once the water is inside. 

Source: CNN and HLN live

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