Manatee deputies investigate drowning after 54-year-old Bradenton man found dead in canal
A death investigation is underway after the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office found a 54-year-old Bradenton man floating in a canal.
At 8:39 a.m. Friday, deputies responded to the 300 block of Magellan Drive, just south of 69th Avenue West, near Bradenton when someone called to report that they found a body in the canal. The Florida Highway Patrol also went to the same area around 2 a.m. to investigate a vehicle crash in front of a house.
At that time, the driver of the vehicle could not be located, the sheriff’s office said. According to a press release, investigators believe Horacio Enrique Salazar-Martinez crashed the car and then got out of the vehicle before wandering off and falling into the water.
Because investigators found no trauma to Salazar-Martinez’s body, the sheriff’s office does not suspect foul play. An autopsy is expected to reveal the exact cause of death, a press release said.
The investigation is ongoing.
