North Dakota Students Had Little Time to React to Fatal Accident, Expert Says

Nov. 5, 2009— -- A search and rescue expert in the rural North Dakota town where three college students drowned after their Jeep sank in a farm pond said they would have had very little time to react.

Dickinson Rural Fire Chief Curtis Lefor told "Good Morning America" today that with the "panic and cold, coldness of the water, they probably just didn't have time" to escape.

Family and friends gathered at the site of the stock pond Wednesday where the bodies of Dickinson State University softball players Kyrstin Gemar, 22, Ashley Neufeld, 21, and Afton Williamson, 20, were found on Tuesday.

The women had been reported missing Sunday night after placing two frantic phone calls to friends in which they talked about water before the line went dead.

Lefor said the pond was one that would be "more than likely" found on just about any farm that has livestock, a common occurrence in that part of North Dakota.

Dug to hold water for the cattle, stock ponds are usually 12 to 16 feet deep with steep muddy sides that Lefor said a vehicle would not be able to back out of.

Experts have long said that people trapped in a car underwater need to act fast, breaking the glass using anything from the heel of a shoe to an inexpensive device that easily breaks windows.

"You're panicking at the situation at that moment and the water is extremely cold," Lefor said. "You lose dexterity and just don't think straight."

Police have said they do no suspect foul play but that it's not known whether alcohol played a part in the deaths.

Bev Neufeld, Ashley's mother, told "Good Morning America" that the pond where her daughter's body was found is disguised by tall grasses.

"It's virtually hidden," she said. "The vehicle could be in that entrapment before you realize it."

Lenny Gemar, Kyrstin's father, said that Tuesday was "the worst day of my life."

The women were found after authorities found tire marks leading to the pond near where one of their cell phones last sent out a signal. They were believed to have been out stargazing the night they disappeared. Stargazing is a popular activity in an area that doesn't offer much in the way of activities and nightlife.

"The phone call is actually what led to law enforcement finding them. Because of the cell phone call they were able to do what's called a 'ping' off the tower," Banyai said. "It gave us at least a direction and an area to search in."

There was no indication that the women had tried to escape from the Jeep, he said.