DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) -- Final autopsy results show that three college softball players who drowned when their sport utility vehicle went into a livestock pond in southwestern North Dakota had not been drinking or using drugs.
Dickinson Police Lt. Rod Banyai says toxicology tests came back negative 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 bodies of the three Dickinson State University softball players were found Nov. 3 inside Gemar's SUV, which was submerged in about 10 feet of water in a pond about 10 miles northwest of Dickinson.
The women were believed to have gone on a stargazing trip. Authorities said they likely drove straight into the water in the darkness.
Previous storySAN DIEGO - Family members and teammates of three North Dakota college softball players have thrown roses and softballs into a pond where the students were found dead inside their Jeep.
The bodies of 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 were found inside their white SUV on Tuesday. Authorities say it appears the three went on a stargazing trip when their vehicle slid into the pond in southwest North Dakota.
Police traced cell phone signals from the women's frantic calls to friends late Sunday. Those signals helped lead authorities to the pond near Dickinson.
About 30 relatives, friends and teammates gathered at the pond on Wednesday.
Gemar was a Clairemont High School graduate. Her father said on Tuesday that the women often went star gazing near a lake in southwestern North Dakota.
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."
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.
Kyrstin Gemar (Photo: Claire Gemar)
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.
Lenny Gemar (Photo: Claire Gemar)
Lenny Gemar is a professional photographer in San Diego and technician for the San Diego Chargers radio broadcasts.
Kyrstin Gemar used to play at Grossmont College, where a memorial service is planned next week. The college also plans to retire her jersey number and create a scholarship in her memory.
An autopsy is underway to determine exactly how all three girls died.
