Man found dead at Grotto is Bridge Capital economist

An autopsy was set last night to determine the cause of death of a man who was snorkeling at the Grotto in Marpi on Saturday and was found dead at the dive site the following morning, according to the Department of Public Safety.

As this developed, Bridge Capital LLC identified the victim yesterday as its long-time employee, Eric Bjorge.

DPS Commissioner James C. Deleon Guerrero confirmed the victim’s name as Eric Joseph Bjorge, 52, who worked for Bridge Capital as an economist.

Deleon Guerrero said Guam chief medical examiner Aurelio Espinola was scheduled to perform the autopsy on Bjorge at the Commonwealth Health Center’s morgue last night.

Bridge Capital legal counsel Michael Ernest said they at Bridge Capital were saddened to learn of Bjorge’s death and wish to express their condolences to his family and all those who cared about him.

Since first joining Bridge Capital team nearly 10 years ago, Bjorge had become not just a valued member of their team but also their friend, Ernest said.

“Each of us has fond memories of Eric. He will be missed,” said Ernest in the company’s statement.

“We have been in contact with Eric’s family and we will have more to say after we have a chance to speak with his family in person. Until then, we will keep Eric and his family in our thoughts and prayers,” he added.

According to a G4S security guard assigned at Grotto, the victim arrived alone at Grotto aboard a silver Toyota RAV 4 with license plate ABS-584 on Saturday at 2:55pm.

The guard said when he left at 5pm at the end of his shift, a few people were still at Grotto as there were at least five vehicles, including the victim’s, in the parking lot.

When the guard reported to work Sunday before 9am, he began listing the vehicles that were already in the parking lot and that’s when he noticed that the victim’s vehicle was still there. He then found out that it was one of the vehicles that remained there after his duty on Saturday as there was no “out” in his log.

On Sunday at 9:20am, Jim Jungle, owner of Jim Adventure who was one of those already at the Grotto, climbed up and told the guard about a dead man floating in the Grotto’s waters.

The guard, who was in his outpost at the entrance of the parking lot, immediately called 911 for police assistance.

Grotto has a security guard everyday from 10am to 4:30pm.