Zimmerman Kidnapping Case Goes Federal; Investigators Identify Second Victim

(KNSI) – The case against an International Falls man accused of kidnapping and raping a seven-year-old Zimmerman girl in January is now much bigger than that single crime.

A federal indictment unsealed Thursday alleges 28-year-old Joseph Andrew Bragg also produced child pornography involving a second child, and investigators say they believe there may be even more victims. A federal grand jury indicted Bragg on counts of kidnapping and attempted transportation of a minor, along with the production and possession of child pornography involving the second victim.

Investigators say a cell phone Bragg was carrying the night of the January kidnapping contained multiple videos and images of child sexual abuse, and that a second minor was positively identified in several of those files. Authorities are urging anyone with information to come forward.

According to prosecutors, on Wednesday, January 21st, the girl’s mother reported her missing around 6:30 p.m. after she didn’t come home from school. The mother learned the child wasn’t with her father or grandmother, and no one else had permission to be with her. Police say the girl had been dropped off by her school bus around 3:40 p.m. Neighbor surveillance footage showed her walking toward her home at 3:53 p.m. before turning back toward the bus stop and disappearing from view.

During the investigation, the mother told authorities about an unusual online interaction in December with a Facebook user identified as Bragg. She accepted a friend request because she thought she knew him. The mother said Bragg asked whether she had children and expressed interest in working with children and childcare services in the Zimmerman-Princeton area. She ultimately realized she didn’t know him and blocked him.

Investigators tracked Bragg using cell phone location data and identified him traveling southbound toward Iowa in a white 2025 Dodge Ram rental with Tennessee plates. Prosecutors say location data confirmed the rental vehicle was near the victim’s home on January 21st around the time she would have gotten off the school bus.

An Amber Alert went out after the information was shared with multiple agencies.

Bragg was taken into custody around 12:34 a.m. on January 22nd after an Albert Lea Police Department sergeant stopped the pickup near the Trails Travel Center and Love’s Truck Stop, about 140 miles south of Zimmerman and 12 miles from the Iowa border. Officers say the truck was packed with belongings, and they spotted a young girl with blonde hair in the backseat, partially hidden by items including a large red suitcase that appeared to be empty. The girl was recovered safely and identified as the missing Zimmerman child. Bragg was arrested and declined to speak with police.

Court documents reveal Bragg had laid the groundwork ahead of the abduction. He parked a car at a Hamel home and asked the homeowner if he could leave it there because he was going out of state. He then used Lyft to take himself and the girl from the Hamel-Corcoran area to a Ramada Inn in Plymouth, where he had reserved a room from December 27th, 2025, through January 21st, 2026. Surveillance video showed him entering alone but carrying a large red suitcase, big enough to fit a child, that appeared heavy and difficult to lift. Investigators believe he abused the girl at the hotel.

A forensic interview and examination determined the Zimmerman girl had been sexually assaulted. In January, Bragg was charged in Sherburne County District Court with one felony count of kidnapping to facilitate a felony or flight and one felony count of 1st-degree criminal sexual conduct. He remains in federal custody.

Investigators believe there may be more victims. Anyone with information about Bragg is asked to contact the FBI Tip Line at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

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