Man, 28, accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting Zimmerman girl

An International Falls man accused of abducting a 7-year-old girl in central Minnesota on Wednesday now faces charges.

Joseph Bragg, 28, is charged with one count of kidnapping and one count of criminal sexual conduct, according to court documents. 

Bragg allegedly took the girl after she got off her school bus in Zimmerman, Minnesota, around 4 p.m. Authorities found the two in Albert Lea, Minnesota, around 1 a.m. Thursday and took the man into custody. 

According to the complaint, the girl's mother called police after learning that she was not with her father or her grandmother. A neighbor's doorbell footage showed the girl walking home from the bus stop, and then turning back, out of view. 

The mother told police that in December, she had an unusual online interaction with Bragg on Facebook. He had added her, and the two had talked briefly before she blocked him, the complaint states.

During their interaction, Bragg asked whether she had children, and said he wanted children of his own, documents say. 

Law enforcement identified Bragg as a suspect, and learned he had access to a rental vehicle. Using cell phone location data, investigators learned that he was traveling south towards Iowa, the criminal complaint says. Shortly thereafter, authorities issued an AMBER alert.

Around midnight on Thursday, an Albert Lea officer saw a white pickup truck at a gas station that matched the vehicle information. He conducted a traffic stop and found the girl in the back seat, charges say.

According to the complaint, investigators learned that Bragg had taken the girl to a hotel in Plymouth, Minnesota. The girl told police that she was in the hotel room with Bragg, and he had sexually assaulted her. Bragg did not provide a statement to law enforcement, the complaint says.

Hundreds of public safety personnel and volunteers aided in searching for the girl.