The hunt for five young people who vanished in Wales after a weekend night out has ended in tragedy, as police found the car the group was traveling in crashed, with three of the occupants dead.

As CrimeOnline previously reported, Sophie Russon, 20; Eve Smith,21;  and Darcy Ross, 21, along with Rafel Jeanne Actie, 24, and Shane Loughlin, 32, were last seen in the Cardiff area around 2 a.m. on Saturday morning.

Gwent police located the car on late Sunday night — nearly 48 hours after they’d last been seen — the South Wales Argus reported, but did not identify the three people found dead. The other two were reported to have “serious” injuries, the Guardian reported.

But friends and family indicated that Smith, Ross, and Actie were killed when their Volkswagen Tiguan went off the road between Newport and Cardiff.

Smith’s sister, Lauren Doyle, confirmed her sister’s death in a Facebook post.

“I will not comment on anyone other than Eve Smith to confirm that she has been confirmed as deceased,” she wrote. “Thank you for your support and shares I won’t be answering messages please allow us some time as a family to digest this terrible news.”

The Argus noted Facebook posts from friends of Ross and Actie, including one that said Russon and McLoughlin had survived “but not in a good way.”

Gwent Police confirmed to the Guardian that they were conducting an internal investigation regarding the response to the reports that the group was missing.

Investigators said the car crashed off the A48, a main road into Cardiff, but came to rest in a thick stand of trees, screening it from the road and nearby houses.

For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast.

[Featured image: Top row, left to right: Eve Smith, Darcy Ross, and Sophie Russon. Bottom row: Rafel Jeanne Actie, left, and Shane McLoughlin/Facebook]