LOGANSPORT, Ind. (WXIN) — The 14-year-old son of a former Indianapolis Colts player has been found more than two weeks after his reported disappearance, and his parents are among several people now in custody.
Bryson Muir appeared “safe and well,” according to Indiana State Police. He was released into the custody of the Cass County Department of Child Services.
His father, Daniel Muir, faces preliminary charges of domestic battery (Class A misdemeanor) and obstruction of justice (Level 6 felony) while his mother, Kristen Muir, faces a preliminary charge of obstruction of justice (Level 6 felony), Indiana State Police said. Details regarding the other people who were detained Wednesday have not yet been released.
Grandmother of ex-Colts player’s missing son speaks out about abuse allegations
Arrest warrants had been issued for both parents. Police took them to the Cass County Jail. A judge said no bond will be issued for the Muirs on Wednesday afternoon, citing them as flight risks.
This happened as Indiana State Police descended on a compound in Logansport, roughly 80 miles north of Indianapolis.
Three SWAT teams, detectives, K9 units, and a bomb squad were prepared to search multiple buildings at the property owned by the Servant Leader’s Foundation, a nonprofit religious group. The operation began around 6 a.m. Wednesday, ISP said.
“With anything of this nature, we have to be well prepared to go into the unknown,” said Sgt. Steven Glass with ISP. “Ultimately, everything went well and everybody is safe, including Bryson.”
Glass described the operation as “peaceful,” saying police immediately came into contact with the Muirs when they executed the warrants.
Officers from the Logansport Police Department and Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were also at the scene. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office provided additional resources.
Video showed multiple police cars at the location, along with an armored vehicle from IMPD.
Daniel Muir and his wife, Kristen, were due in court Tuesday but didn’t show, leading ISP to prepare for Wednesday’s operation.
Before Wednesday’s developments, Bryson had last been seen on June 16. His grandmother, Cheryl Wright, said the teen may have been abused by his father, Daniel Muir, a former Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman.
Wright tipped off police about the possible abuse after finding her grandson with a black eye. He was last seen in Cleveland, Ohio, leaving with his mother, Kristen Muir, in a white 2015 Chevrolet Suburban.
Wright previously told Nexstar’s WXIN that she contacted police and took a picture of her grandson’s injuries.
“His face was battered. When I got him, he had a black eye and busted lip,” Wright said. “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.”
Bryson told her that his father was responsible for the injuries. He didn’t reveal what led up to it.
According to court documents, Daniel Muir allegedly admitted to beating his son in a secretly recorded phone call.
“I whooped his a– like a grown a– man,” Daniel Muir reportedly said in the recording.
Wright believes her grandson had been “brainwashed” by his parents and the religious group to which they belong.
Police quickly found Bryson’s mother and the Suburban, but the 14-year-old wasn’t inside the vehicle. Investigators believe he may have been switched into another vehicle.
For several days, investigators say they couldn’t contact Bryson’s parents despite going to the family’s home in Logansport multiple times. On June 27, there seemed to be a shift in the case, with Indiana State Police saying the Muirs were “beginning to cooperate.”
Court documents reveal that the Muirs met with investigators at the Cass County DCS office on June 27 but their son wasn’t with them.
‘We don’t know’: Son of former Colts player still missing after 12 days, Silver Alert declared
The Muirs did show police a video of Bryson that showed him standing in an “undisclosed location, possibly in a wooded area.” In the video, Bryson reportedly said, “My father did not punch me in the eye.”
Investigators spoke with both Daniel and Kristen, but said their stories weren’t consistent.
Not long after, any optimism of cooperation quickly dissipated. On July 28, Daniel and Kristen Muir, through their lawyer, agreed to meet with police and bring along their son. An hour before the scheduled meeting, however, ISP said they backed out and refused to hand over Bryson.
That prompted a statewide Silver Alert, which said Bryson was last seen on June 16 and indicated he could be in “extreme danger and may require medical assistance.” That Silver Alert has since been canceled.
Signs at the secluded Logansport property make no mention of the Servant Leader’s Foundation, which records show is the registered owner of the property. Multiple signs say, “Welcome to Straitway Indiana Goshen” along with a crest.
Other signs warn against trespassing and state that the location is private property.
An internet search leads to Straitway Ministries, a Tennessee-based religious group that describes itself as “nation of Hebrew Israelites who are commandment keepers; obedient to Yah (God) and our savior, Jesus the Christ.”
The group’s official YouTube page features a video from four years ago that shows a man appearing to be Daniel Muir preaching to a crowd.
Muir played football at Kent State before being signed as an undrafted free agent by the Green Bay Packers in 2007. He went on to spend four seasons with the Colts before playing in three games for the New York Jets and 10 for the then-Oakland Raiders. During his career, Muir signed contracts with the then-St. Louis Rams, the Kansas City Chiefs and the Houston Texans. Muir last played in the NFL in 2013.
Some have described the group as a cult; Bryson’s grandmother feared her grandson was being “brainwashed” and couldn’t bring himself to leave his parents.
“Bryson is so conditioned or brainwashed to their way of living that he wanted to go back,” Wright said earlier this week. “As I tried to get my daughter to leave, he ran out of the house and left with them.”
“The Muir family, they’ve been improperly targeted and they’re not guilty of any abuse or illegal activity. They’re entitled to their day in court and due process,” Victor Vining, a defense attorney representing Daniel and Kristen Muir, told reporters after the couple appeared before a judge on Wednesday.
During the hearing, a judge denied bond for either Daniel or Kristen Muir, citing them as flight risks. The parents were also each ordered to have no contact with their son. They are scheduled to appear in court again on July 16.
Pastor Charles Dowell, who leads Straitway Truth, posted several videos in the wake of the raid on YouTube. In one of the videos, Dowell said not to trust news reports or police reports about the allegations involving the Muir family.
“You better believe that Straitway is not going to be taking any of this lying down,” Dowell said. “We comin’. You better believe we comin’.”
Sports Illustrated previously detailed Straitway Truth and Pastor Dowell in an extensive report in which many people accuse the religious group of being a cult, amongst other troubling allegations.
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