This Buick is no boat: Half-submerged car frozen solid on White Bear Lake draws a following

Frozen in place for weeks on White Bear Lake, a half-submerged Buick with inches of snow on top is stuck like a goose mid-dive in the pressure ridge it fell through — a curious sight that has attracted a wide audience on social media.

The front end of the car, a white 2008 Buick Lucerne, is touching the bottom of the lake while its trunk and rear bumper poke out toward the sky. Ramsey County Sheriff’s deputies confirmed it was unoccupied when they first received a call about it Jan. 27.

It hasn’t budged since.

The Buick’s owner, a 41-year-old man who lives nearby, has just a few days left on a 30-day deadline to remove the vehicle or he will face fines up to five times the cost it takes to remove it from the lake. The owner of the car told deputies that, as water was coming through the floorboards, he was able to escape the vehicle through a window and walk to safety, according to a police report.

When ice angler Karl Erickson saw the peculiar scene, he said he took a short video of the stuck vehicle with the intention of turning someone’s bad day into a lesson for others online.

Erickson, who has taught thousands of students how to ice fish as part of a nonprofit Urban Ice Anglers program, said he didn’t expect the video reel to take off on social media, where it now has more than 1 million views.

In a follow-up video Wednesday, he drilled a hole next to the Buick and used an underwater camera to show his followers some fish exploring the vehicle’s submerged parts.

“We are back over here on White Bear Lake with the Buick,” he said in the video. “Apparently the fish are just as interested in this story as the rest of you guys on Instagram.”

Intrigued commenters said they knew fish would be interested in checking it out with one posting, “Pop the trunk and use it as a livewell for your fish!”

“People on the internet love making memes and weird stuff and I thought, ‘how about make a meme to raise awareness for the nonprofit [and ice safety]?’ ” Erickson said. “Plus it’s definitely not something you see every day in Minnesota.”

Several online commenters wondered how the car can be removed when it’s frozen solid in a lake. The car’s owner didn’t return messages for comment.

Erickson and authorities said the stuck car is a reminder that lake ice is never completely safe, even when it’s thick.

The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office received four calls of submerged vehicles this winter, three in White Bear Lake and one in Bald Eagle Lake, said Cmdr. Mike Servatka. In this case, the owner told deputies he was driving on the ice in the dark and did not see a pressure ridge in front of his car.

“Most cases aren’t as bad as this one. Usually they get them out pretty quick,” Servatka said, adding it’s an unusual situation for a vehicle to be frozen into the ice. Pressure ridges are dangerous to drive over and deputies had placed thin ice flags near it to warn drivers.

Last winter, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources recorded four people who died by falling through the ice.

This season, three people died in ice incidents in December: A 16-year-old boy died in Woodbury after falling through the ice; a man died in northern Minnesota after his ATV broke through the ice; and a Duluth pastor died after falling through the ice while skating in Superior, Wis.

On Jan. 11, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office told the public to use caution after a UTV went through the ice on Lake Hanska, west of Mankato.

That same day, the Pope County Sheriff’s Office reported that a truck went through the ice on Lake Minnewaska. Officials in that case said temperature changes caused the ice to expand and contract creating pressure ridges and gaps.

“I don’t think the average person realizes how dangerous the ice can be. [Erickson is] educating the public with his videos,“ Servatka said. ”For the average person, you’ve got to be careful out there. Unless you know the lake, don’t be out there at night.”