A 38-year-old woman from Baldwin, Wis. was found dead in a lake behind her family's home early Sunday after her car crashed into a power pole nearby, authorities said.

Kristelle "Krissy" Wolle, the mother of five children, was found dead about 10:30 a.m. in Pine Lake, about 5 miles north of Baldwin, according to the St. Croix County Sheriff's Office.

A sheriff's deputy discovered the car shortly after 5 a.m. at an intersection, where Wolle was turning just down the street from her driveway, Sheriff's Capt. Jeff Klatt said Monday. The captain said investigators have yet to pinpoint when the crash occurred.

Seeing that the vehicle, which landed in a roadside ditch, was unoccupied, authorities launched an extensive search in foggy conditions that included local emergency personnel, a Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources warden and an airplane from the New Richmond Airport. The warden discovered Wolle's body in the water.

Wolle's mother, Sandra Bancroft, who has spoken with authorities, said her daughter must have been "disoriented or something" to end up in the lake.

"She never made it to the house and ended up in the water," said Bancroft, adding that her daughter was coming back from socializing with friends.

Klatt said fog might have contributed to Wolle's crash. The deputy who first responded said he "could barely see."

Wolle worked for UnitedHealth Group's Optum division and also taught business classes online, Bancroft said.

A 1992 Anoka High School graduate with college degrees from St. Mary's and Bethel universities, Wolle worked mostly from home, allowing her to help her stay-at-home husband with the kids, ages 2 to 15.

"She just got home from India" on a business trip, Bancroft said. "I was always so worried about her doing that flying. Every time Krissy flew — it was rule — when she landed at the airport, she had to send me a text. She had 10 different flights on that trip to India. She sent me texts every time."

Saturday night, "she was out with some friends," Wolle's mother continued. "She left, and went to come home and never made it."

An autopsy was scheduled.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482