Ice shanty New Year's Eve party ends in tragedy

FOND DU LAC - In the early morning darkness, with temperatures dipping below zero,Lindsey Klima stepped outside for a cigarette at an ice shanty party onNew Year’s Day.

The 27-year-old was found some 15 hours later, dead, along the southern shore of Lake Winnebago.

Wearing only jeans and a light jacket, no gloves or hat, Klima had attempted to make her way from the party to the shore for reasons unknown, said Fond du Lac Sheriff’s Captain Ryan Waldschmidt.

“She was last seen leaving the shanty at 1:40 a.m., and this was a shanty about 150 yards out on the lake,” Waldschmidt said.

RELATED: Fond du Lac woman found dead in cold temps

At least 11 people in the United States have died since Tuesday morning in cold-related deaths, national media outlets are reporting. Klima's death is among five weather-related deaths in Wisconsin.

Frigid temperatures Monday ranged from -11 to 3 degrees during the hours Klima was reported to be outdoors.

About a dozen friends had gathered at the ice shanty on New Year’s Eve to bring in the new year, Waldschmidt said, and there were people coming and going throughout the evening and into the morning.

The sheriff’s office received the call about 4:30 p.m. Monday that the 27-year-old had gone missing.

Klima, a 2008 graduate of Winnebago Lutheran Academy, worked as a private-duty CNA nurse and was employed at the Fond du Lac County Health Care Center, according to her obituary. 

Along with family and friends, she leaves behind her partner, Shawn Steffes, and a young daughter, Avery.

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hope Lutheran Church, 260 Vincent St., in Fond du Lac. Visitation begins at 10 a.m. at the church. 

With the lingering deep freeze, Fond du Lac County Health Officer Kim Mueller stresses the importance of being prepared at all times. Dress in multiple layers, she said, keep cars stocked with emergency supplies, make sure cellphones are fully charged, and for anyone partying out on the ice, she urges them to use the buddy system.

“Sometimes people will run out lightly dressed to run an errand or something they think will take a short time, but anything can happen in this weather,” she says.

Body parts can freeze within seconds in 30 (degrees) below zero weather. And drinking alcohol in the cold can drastically decrease body temperature.

“Shivering, confusion, slurred speech and drowsiness are symptoms of hypothermia, and it can mimic people drinking too much alcohol,” Mueller said. “It doesn’t make sense to be drinking outdoors, but if you do, pay attention to safety." 

Waldschmidt said while there was drinking going on at the party, it is unknown whether alcohol was a factor in Klima’s death. It looks like when she reached the rocky, snow-covered shoreline near Garden Street, west of Luco Creek, she may have injured her leg between two rocks, he said.

“It looks like she had difficulty making her way up the shoreline, just into the yard of a private residence,” he said.

Family and friends were out searching midday Monday after discovering Klima never returned home.

“When we got the call that afternoon, we sent out two patrol deputies and supervisor, and it takes a while to gather the information and find out what is going on,” Waldschmidt said. “No one who had been with her that night realized she was missing because people were assuming she had gone home with someone else.”

While deputies were gathering details, a friend who had been at the ice shanty party discovered her body at about 6:30 p.m. 

Waldschmidt said in the face of this tragedy he can’t stress enough the deadliness of subzero temperatures.

“She had on clothing that I would consider appropriate for being inside a heated shanty, but not for the kind of weather we saw out on the lake that night,” Waldschmidt said.