Portage
Cincinnati resident may not have had ability to swim
A Cincinnati man drowned Sunday at the Portage Lakefront Riverwalk on Lake Michigan.
Indiana Conservation Officer Terri Millefoglie said law enforcement officers were called to the river walk at 4 p.m. Sunday.
A preliminary investigation indicated that five friends were swimming there when Salomon Castro Martinez, 30, didn’t resurface, Millefoglie said Sunday night.
Porter County Coroner Chuck Harris said in release that, according to witnesses, Martinez was last seen on a sandbar before he’d gone off it and went underwater.
It is believed that Martinez did not know how to swim, according to the release.
Portage and Porter Fire rescuers recovered Martinez in 6 feet of water and transported him to Porter Regional Hospital in Portage.
He was pronounced dead at 5:20 p.m. due to asphyxiation due to drowning, Harris said in the release.
Millefoglie said the Lake Michigan’s conditions were “good” and presented no clear danger to visitors.
The coroner’s office will perform routine toxicology to determine if drugs or alcohol played any role in the death, according to the release.
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