( CNN ) -- The bodies of three students at a North Dakota university who had been missing since Sunday were found Tuesday in a vehicle submerged in a pond near their school , police said . The discovery came Tuesday afternoon after a search team found tire tracks leading to a stock pond for cattle five miles northwest of Dickinson , North Dakota , Lt. William Leach of the Stark County Sheriff 's Office told CNN . The investigators found a white 1997 Jeep Cherokee with California tags containing the bodies , he said . Foul play is not suspected , he said . The Dickinson State University softball players -- Kyrstin Gemar , 22 , a senior who owned the car ; Afton Williamson , 20 , a junior ; and Ashley Neufeld , 21 , a senior -- had last been reported seen about 10:45 p.m. Sunday , according to CNN affiliate KXMB . At 11:18 p.m. and 11:19 p.m. , teammates received two distress calls from the women during which they mentioned water and a lake , said Connie Walter , Dickinson director of university relations . After the calls ended abruptly , the teammates contacted law enforcement and the search began . At 12:07 a.m. Monday , a `` ping '' on a tower from one of the students ' cell phones was traced to a cell tower five miles northeast of Dickinson and authorities concentrated their search in that area , officials said . Watch the women 's coach recall `` awesome person '' Authorities have not identified the owner of the pond , which is 25 yards by 25 yards in area . It was not known how the students ended up in the stock pond , which is on private property and is part of a farm and cattle operation , Walter said . Dickinson Police Officer Thomas Grosz told ABC 's `` Good Morning America '' that authorities believed the women may have gone out to a lake to stargaze . That would not have been unusual , Gemar 's father , Lenny , told ABC . Dickinson , he said , is a `` pretty small town '' without an active nightlife . He said the women routinely drove to a lake to stargaze and chat . Williamson and Gemar were from California , while Neufeld was from Canada , according to KXMB . Dickinson is almost 100 miles west of Bismarck , North Dakota .
Police find women in car submerged in pond . Friend says the missing women called her , were hysterical , mentioned water . The three students were known to stargaze at lake , father of three tells KXMB . Kyrstin Gemar , Ashley Neufeld and Afton Williamson were last seen afternoon .