Ex-NFL player Daniel Muir and his wife Kristen have been arrested and charged in the case of allegedly abusing their son and then hiding him from county authorities in Indiana.
The Cass County Sheriff’s Department issued a Silver Alert, declaring that their son, Bryson, was missing when the parents refused to bring their son for county investigators to see. Bryson had been photographed a few days before with a black eye, busted lip and swollen face, which sparked an abuse investigation.
The parents’ refusal prompted a judge to sign off on a search and arrest warrants to empower the Indiana State Police SWAT Team to storm the Muirs’ home in Logansport, Indiana, about 90 miles north of Indianapolis. Once the officers gained access, they found the three holed up at the home and were taken into custody without incident, Newsweek reports.
Bryson was released into the care of the Cass County Children’s Services Department.
Both parents were each charged with one count of obstruction of justice; Daniel received another count of domestic battery. It remains unclear whether the parents have been released on bond.
The worry for Bryson’s safety began on June 26 in Ohio. Bryson’s grandmother, Cheryl Wright, became alarmed after seeing multiple facial bruises and alerted the authorities in her hometown of Garfield Heights, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland.
However, a few days later, Kristen drove to Wright’s house to pick up her son. The 14-year-old boy reportedly left willingly, despite admitting to her grandmother that his father abused him. A short while later, a cop pulled over Kristen’s white Suburban over — but Bryson was nowhere to be found.
“The officers believe that he had probably been switched into another car,” Wright explained to Fox 59 of Indianapolis.
Daniel played seven seasons in the NFL from 2007-13, four of which were with the Indianapolis Colts.
Upon retirement, Daniel became a pastor at Straitway Truth Ministries, a religious organization that is reportedly based in Tennessee. Newsweek wrote that the group owns the Muirs’ home and their car. Some detractors have denounced the ministry as a cult.
