Paula spotted a tree branch on a block of ice and went over to investigate.

The ice had been pulled out by a fisherman to create a hole for spear fishing recently.

Branches were put there by the fisherman to warn snowmobilers away from the hazard of hitting the ice.

She went in to her bellybutton before extricating herself.

The ice was thin where the fisherman had been and was right for this catastrophe.

Good thing Paula is a SCUBA diver and good swimmer. 

Her snow pants were getting stiff as the water froze making walking difficult.

Blue jeans, under the snow pants, were only partially wet.

Fortunately it all turned OK in the end.  This could have been much worse.

At least she can laugh about it.

The lesson here is that fishermen should cover their ice fishing holes better, possibly by putting the ice back in the hole before leaving.