A Minnesota man is facing multiple charges after allegedly abducting a 7-year-old girl. Joseph Bragg, a man with no known address, reportedly was able to take the girl after she got off the school bus. Afterward, he allegedly took her to a hotel, where he sexually assaulted her. Bragg intended to take the girl across state lines but was caught before that could happen. Authorities are still trying to figure out why Bragg chose to abduct the girl, noting that he may have previously interacted with a member of her family.
The investigation will continue, but right now it’s most important that the girl is alive and safe. According to a news release from the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office, Bragg reportedly abducted the girl after she got off the school bus around 4 p.m. January 21, 2026. Dispatch received a call reporting her missing about 6:30 p.m.
Law enforcement, first responders, and the public worked together to find the girl, but their initial search didn’t lead to finding her. The sheriff’s office thanked the “hundreds of volunteers” who helped them in their search for the girl.
“This is every family’s worst nightmare,” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said, KARE reported. Evans said that Bragg has no previous criminal history.
“We want to make sure that everybody across Minnesota continues to do just what we saw in this community today,” he added. “When a child goes missing, we come together. We work together.”
The girl’s mother told police that she had an odd interaction with Bragg on Facebook in December, CBS News reported. He added her as a friend, and they communicated briefly before she blocked him.
Bragg allegedly asked the mother if she had children, saying he wanted children of his own. That’s when police identified him as a possible suspect.
As authorities continued to search for the girl, they learned that Bragg had rented a Dodge Ram, and authorities used location data on his phone to track the vehicle, Fox 9 reported. An Amber Alert was issued once police believed they could apprehend him.
Around 12:34 a.m., officers from the Albert Lea Police Department responded to a truck stop after the Dodge was spotted. A sergeant performed a traffic stop, noticing the car was “packed full of items, making it difficult to view the back seat.” However, they found the girl in the back seat and rescued her. Bragg was arrested.
Further investigation revealed that Bragg had used a Lyft to pick the girl up from the school bus, Fox 9 reported. He then took her to a hotel in Plymouth, Minnesota. He was spotted in hotel footage entering and leaving the Ramada Inn with a large suitcase.
When police interviewed the girl, she told them she was in the hotel room with her clothes off. She also shared that Bragg touched her in her “personal spot,” which left her “feeling disgusting.”
Joseph Bragg has been charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of criminal sexual conduct.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, the National Sexual Assault Hotline provides confidential 24/7 support. Call 800-656-HOPE (4673) or chat online at RAINN.
