SQUAW VALLEY, CA - Investigators still have questions about why three young women who were found dead in a car near Squaw Valley on Tuesday died just a few hundred yards away from where they had been staying.

A spokeswoman for Squaw Valley tells Kolo-8 the three had been working at the resort for a couple of weeks and had been staying at a hostel in the Olympic Village.

A Squaw Valley security guard found them dead in a car covered with snow. Authorities say the snow may have blocked the car's tailpipe, possibly sending carbon monoxide into the vehicle.

Other employees at the resort are still reacting to the tragic news.

"To know that we lost some of our family here before we even got to celebrate the winter or the holidays is just unbelievable. I'm blown away," said Stacia Federowski, a Squaw Valley ski instructor.

Two victims have been identified as 22-year-old Lacey Sutton and 21-year-old Sara McCullah; both are from Marysville, California. A 17-year-old girl who's name is not being released because of her age was also killed.

Investigators are in the process of conducting toxicology tests to determine the cause of death. Those results are expected to be released sometime in the next week.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 500 carbon monoxide deaths occur each year with most happening during the winter.