Man charged after Amber Alert abduction of 7-year-old
Sherburne County authorities say a 7-year-old Zimmerman girl reported missing Wednesday evening was found alive after a statewide Amber Alert, and 29-year-old International Falls resident Joseph Andrew Bragg now faces felony kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct charges. Investigators allege Bragg abducted the child after she got off her school bus, then used a Lyft ride from a Hamel/Corcoran-area residence to a Ramada Inn in Plymouth before driving south in a rented white Dodge Ram; hotel video shows him entering alone and booking a room. After an Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) alert in Sherburne County and cell-phone location tracking pointed to his truck heading toward Iowa, Albert Lea police spotted the vehicle near two truck stops around 12:34 a.m. and, during a traffic stop, found the girl in a back seat packed with belongings. The charging complaint also details a prior December Facebook contact in which Bragg allegedly befriended the child’s mother online, asked about her kids and expressed interest in working with children, prompting investigators to warn parents to tightly monitor kids’ social media and messaging app activity. Roughly 200 law enforcement personnel and more than 700 community members joined the search, which officials say was crucial to bringing the girl home quickly and keeping this from becoming another unsolved child-abduction horror story.
📌 Key Facts
- Joseph Andrew Bragg, 29, of International Falls is charged with felony kidnapping and first-degree criminal sexual conduct in Sherburne County.
- The 7-year-old victim disappeared after getting off a school bus in Zimmerman; an Amber Alert was issued after she was reported missing around 6:31 p.m. Wednesday.
- Investigators say Bragg previously contacted the girl’s mother via Facebook in December and later used a Lyft to take the child from a Hamel/Corcoran residence to a Plymouth Ramada hotel.
- Cell-phone tracking showed Bragg driving a rented white Dodge Ram south toward Iowa; Albert Lea police stopped the truck near truck stops around 12:34 a.m. and found the girl inside.
- Authorities report roughly 200 officers and more than 700 community members assisted in the search that led to the child’s recovery.
📊 Relevant Data
In fiscal year 2021, 57.5% of federal sexual abuse offenders were White, 16.1% were Black, 12.1% were Native American, 11.8% were Hispanic, and 2.5% were of other races, compared to U.S. population estimates of approximately 60% White, 13% Black, 1% Native American, 19% Hispanic, and 7% other races.
Quick Facts on Sexual Abuse Offenses — United States Sentencing Commission
A 2022 national survey found that 15.6% of individuals reported lifetime exposure to online child sexual abuse.
Prevalence of Online Sexual Offenses Against Children in the US — PMC (PubMed Central)
As of December 18, 2025, 1,292 children were successfully recovered through the AMBER Alert system in the United States.
Statistics - AMBER Alert — Office of Justice Programs
In 2023, the number of child abuse perpetrators in the United States was 187,633 White, 86,376 Black, 82,421 unknown, 25,113 Hispanic, 9,616 American Indian or Alaska Native, 5,533 Asian, and 1,037 Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.
Child abuse perpetrators by race U.S. 2023 — Statista
Zimmerman, Minnesota, had a population of 6,410 in 2023, with 84.4% White, 3.9% Asian, 9.1% two or more races, and smaller percentages for other groups; from 2010 to 2020, the population increased by 18.97%.
Zimmerman city, Minnesota - U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts — U.S. Census Bureau
📰 Source Timeline (1)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time