Man drowns in East Liverpool lake

Staff report

salem township

Columbiana County Sheriff’s Department reported that Carmen Martinez Saldana, 28, of the 1600 block of Park Avenue in East Liverpool, drowned Saturday afternoon after going swimming in a lake in the 3600 block of Lisbon Road. Leetonia EMS and Fire Department responded.

Witnesses said Saldana first entered the lake on the northwest side, then swam to the fountain in the middle of the lake, then went to the west side. He returned to the fountain then went toward the east side of the lake. Witnesses said they last saw Saldana between the bank on the east side and the fountain. The sheriff’s department asked the home owner to turn off the fountain, which had been running. The fire department used wet suits and entered the lake. After an hour of searching, they found the victim near the area he was last seen.

Saldana’s parents and sister live in California. He would have been 29 Friday.