The missing son of former Indianapolis Colts player Daniel Muir has been found safe after two distressing weeks, while the retired NFL nose tackle has now been arrested amid abuse allegations from the boy’s grandmother.
Bryson Muir, 14, was found ‘safe and well’ at 6am on Wednesday when Indiana State Police SWAT team members raided the Muir family home in Logansport, Indiana.
Both of his parents, Daniel and Kristin Muir, were taken into custody and charged with Obstruction of Justice – a Level 6 felony in Indiana and punishable by up to 2.5 years in jail. Furthermore, Daniel is also charged with misdemeanor battery.
Bryson is now in the custody of the Cass County Department of Child Services.
While officers were able to find Bryson safely, much about his disappearance remains a mystery. Indiana State Police caution that this is still an ongoing criminal probe and anyone with any information on the case can reach out to 1-800-382-0689.
On Friday, Indiana police issued a Silver Alert for Bryson, who was believed to be in extreme danger amid allegations of abuse against Daniel. The teenager had last been seen leaving his grandmother’s Ohio home on June 16, according to Indiana State Police.
Officers described parents Daniel and Kristin as uncooperative on Friday after they reneged on an agreement to bring their son to meet with ISP investigators.
Bryson’s grandmother, Cheryl Wright, notified police after seeing her grandson with a black eye and bruised face at her Ohio home on June 16. But when his mother Kristin came to pick up Bryson in the Cleveland suburbs, the younger Muir fled his grandmother’s home and hopped into his mom’s white 2015 Chevrolet Suburban.
‘His face was battered,’ Wright told Indianapolis’ Fox59 of her last encounter with her grandson outside her Cleveland-area home. ‘When I got [Bryson] he had a black eye and busted lip. His whole face was swollen. I can only imagine how many times he had been hit in the face for it to be like that.’
As for Bryson’s willingness to return to his parents despite his injuries, Wright claimed her grandson has been ‘brainwashed’ by the couple and their religious organization, the Servant Leader Foundation.
‘Bryson is so conditioned or brainwashed to their way of living that he wanted to go back,’ Wright said. ‘As I tried to get my daughter to leave he ran out of the house and left with them.’
Ohio police pulled over the Chevy soon thereafter, but by that point, Bryson was no longer in his mother’s vehicle.
‘The officers believe that he had probably been switched into another car,’ Wright said.
Wright says she told police that she believes Daniel gave Bryson his black eye.
Bryson, she said, refused to talk about the injury with her or the events that preceded it, prompting her to call local police.
‘I didn’t want to let him go,’ said Wright. ‘I tried to call the police because he had been abused. It hurts me that anyone could be beaten like that. It hurts me that my daughter would allow anyone to do that to her child.’
The 40-year-old Daniel is a Washington DC native who played at Kent State before going undrafted in 2007. His wife, Kristin, also attended Kent State, according to her LinkedIn page.
Ultimately Daniel signed with the Green Bay Packers before spending three seasons with the Colts and parts of the 2012 campaign with the New York Jets.
Daniel has also worked as the Indianapolis chapter pastor for Straitway Truth Ministries, who describe themselves as ‘nation of Hebrew Israelites.’
Former Packers star Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila also joined that ministry after denouncing Christianity, according to SI.com.
Another former Colts player, Robert Mathis, has been linked to the organization, which has been described the Southern Poverty Law Center as a potential hate group over anti-LGBTQ and anti-Semitic ideology.
DailyMail.com’s efforts to contact the Muir family, the Servant Leader’s Foundation and the Straitway Truth Ministries have been unsuccessful.
