Joseph Bruce, Sr., a 38-year-old American Indian/Alaska Native man, was last known to have contact on June 25, 2018, while he was in Devils Lake, North Dakota. According to NamUs, he spoke with his girlfriend by phone at about 10:00 a.m. that day. After that call, there was reportedly no further activity on his phone and no further contact with his family. NamUs lists his case as MP51014 and identifies the Devils Lake Police Department as the investigating agency.
At the time he vanished, Joseph was known to have been in or connected to several North Dakota locations, including Grand Forks, Belcourt, and possibly Spirit Lake, before his last known contact in Devils Lake. Public reporting later added important family context: Joseph’s son had been flown to a children’s hospital in the Twin Cities for a medical emergency, and Joseph reportedly told loved ones he was on his way, but he never arrived. His disappearance was especially devastating because his family was already facing a crisis and was expecting him to come to his child’s bedside.
Joseph was described as approximately 6 feet 1 inch to 6 feet 2 inches tall and about 200 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. NamUs notes a scar on the right side of his neck and a distinctive chain tattoo around his neck with the names of his daughters: Alexis, Jo-lyn, Jo-zetta, and Stacey. He was also known to always wear a silver chain containing his father’s ashes, a deeply personal item that reflected the family connections that were central to his life.
A major development came when Joseph’s blue 2002 Oldsmobile Silhouette van was recovered on the Fort Totten/Spirit Lake Reservation area. Public reporting states that the van was found abandoned in a remote area, and accounts describe the keys as still being in the ignition. The vehicle’s discovery deepened concern because it did not explain where Joseph had gone or why he would have left behind a vehicle tied to his family’s urgent travel circumstances.
For nearly a year, Joseph’s family searched, waited, and pressed for answers. In June 2019, partial human remains were found in a secluded area on the Spirit Lake Reservation and were later determined to belong to Joseph Bruce, Sr. NamUs notes that partial remains were found and that the case would remain active in NamUs until additional remains could be found. Because the public case information does not list a formal NamUs resolution status as Alive or Deceased, the most precise way to describe the record is that partial remains were recovered and identified, while public case records continued to seek further answers.
Authorities have treated the circumstances surrounding Joseph’s disappearance and death as unresolved. The FBI became involved and offered a reward, later increased to up to $10,000, for information leading to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for Joseph’s disappearance and/or death. Reporting from Dateline quoted law enforcement as saying the case remained a priority and that investigators continued seeking the missing piece needed to understand what happened.
Joseph’s case is also part of the broader crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People, in which families often endure long searches, fragmented information, and years without full answers. Public accounts remember Joseph as a devoted father and longtime partner whose disappearance left his loved ones grieving not only the loss of him, but also the unanswered questions surrounding his final known movements. Anyone with information has been asked to contact the FBI’s Minneapolis Field Office at 763-569-6011 or the Devils Lake Police Department at 701-662-0700.
Last Seen: Jun 25, 2018
