State Police Search Logansport Complex

LOGANSPORT, Ind. — The 14-year-old son of a former Indianapolis Colts player has been found more than two weeks after he was reported missing.

Bryson Muir’s parents are in custody and several others were arrested Wednesday in Cass County as Indiana State Police executed arrest and search warrants.

The teen appeared “safe and sound,” according to Indiana State Police. He was turned over to Cass County Child Protective Services.

His father, Daniel Muir, faces preliminary charges of domestic violence (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), ISP said.

Arrest warrants were issued for both parents. Police took them to the Cass County Jail.

It happened as Indiana State Police descended on a complex in Logansport located at 1740 W. US Highway 24.

Three SWAT teams, detectives, K9 units and a bomb squad were ready to search several buildings on the property owned by the Servant Leader’s Foundation, a nonprofit religious group. The operation began around 6 a.m., ISP said.

Investigators obtained search warrants for the complex. Officers from the Logansport Police Department and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were also on scene. The Cass County Sheriff’s Office provided additional resources.

Video showed several police cars at the scene, as well as an IMPD armored vehicle.

Daniel and Kristen Muir were due in court on Tuesday but failed to show up, prompting ISP to prepare for Wednesday’s operation.

Background to the case

Before Wednesday’s events, Bryson was last seen on June 16. His grandmother, Cheryl Wright, said the teenager may have been abused by his father, a former Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman.

Wright alerted police to the potential 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 told FOX59/CBS4 this week that she contacted police and took a photo of her grandson’s injuries.

“His face was bruised. When I got him, he had a black eye and a busted lip,” Wright said. “His face was all swollen. I can only imagine how many times he had been hit in the face for that to happen.”

Bryson told him his father was responsible for the injuries. He did not reveal what led to this.

Wright believes his grandson was “brainwashed” by his parents and the religious group they belong to.

Police quickly located Bryson’s mother and the Suburban, but the 14-year-old was not inside the vehicle. Investigators believe he may have been transferred to another vehicle.

Ongoing litigation, Silver Alert

For several days, investigators were unable to make contact with Bryson’s parents, despite numerous visits to the family’s home in Logansport. On June 27, the case appeared to change direction, with Indiana State Police saying the Muirs were “beginning to cooperate.”

But that optimism quickly faded. Daniel and Kristen Muir, through their attorney, had agreed to meet with police at the Peru Post on Friday. An hour before they were scheduled to meet, they canceled, ISP said. The development led police to issue a statewide Silver Alert.

The alert said Bryson was last seen on June 16, 2024, at 7:53 a.m., and said he may be in “extreme danger and require medical assistance.”

More information about the Logansport property

Signs on the isolated Logansport property make no mention of the Servant Leader’s Foundation, which records show is the registered owner of the property. Several signs read “Welcome to Straitway Indiana Goshen” with a crest.

Other signs warn against trespassing and specify that the place is private property.

An Internet search leads to Straitway Ministries, a Tennessee-based religious group that describes itself as “a 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.

Some have described the group as a cult; Bryson’s grandmother feared her grandson was being “brainwashed” and could not bring herself to leave his parents.

“Bryson was so conditioned or indoctrinated by their lifestyle that he wanted to go back,” Wright said earlier this week. “As I tried to convince my daughter to leave, he ran away from home and left with them.”