A Cincinnati man drowned at the Portage Lakefront Riverwalk on Lake Michigan Sunday afternoon.
Indiana Conservation Officer Terri Millefoglie said that law enforcement officers were called to the river walk around 4 p.m. Sunday afternoon. A preliminary investigation indicated that five friends were swimming there when Salomon Castro Martinez, 30, didn’t resurface, Millefoglie said on 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 approximately six 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 be performing routine toxicology to determine if drugs or alcohol played any role in the death, according to the release.
Michelle L. Quinn is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.