The 14-year-old son of former NFL player Daniel Muir has been "missing and endangered" for more than two weeks, and Indiana State Police say the parents are now showing an "unwillingness to cooperate."
Muir's son Bryson was last seen leaving a relative's Ohio home with his mother, Kristen, on June 16, police said. Shortly after their departure in a white 2015 Chevrolet Suburban, officers with Ohio's Garfield Heights Police Department pulled over the vehicle, and Bryson wasn't inside.
Two days later, the Cass County Department of Child Services requested Indiana State Police investigate "allegations of domestic battery to Bryson" that allegedly occurred at the teen's home — which is owned by religious nonprofit organization Servant Leader's Foundation, as is the Chevrolet — in Logansport, about 80 miles north of Indianapolis.
After first being unable to contact Daniel and Kristen, Indiana State Police investigators were later able to make a site visit to the Logansport residence, where the Muirs were "beginning to show signs of cooperation."
But on Friday, police issued a Silver Alert for Bryson after Daniel and Kristen backed out of an arrangement in which they were supposed to bring their son to meet investigators an hour before the scheduled meeting time, "which signaled an unwillingness to cooperate," police said.
The Silver Alert for Bryson states the Black male is 6 feet, 2 inches tall, 185 pounds and was last seen wearing an orange Under Armor shirt and blue jeans. One of the two photos police included of Bryson in the alert shows the teen with a black eye and injured lip wearing an orange shirt.
Bryson's grandmother and Kristen's mother, Cheryl Wright, told Scripps News Indianapolis that Bryson came to her home in Ohio because his mom was concerned about his safety.
The teen showed up with a black eye and swollen face, saying the injuries were from his dad, and stayed for a few days before his mom came to pick him up on June 16, the last day he was seen. Wright said she then contacted the authorities with her concerns about Bryson, which she said she'd spoken to Kristen about.
"We've talked about those concerns, and she always assured me that the children were safe," Wright told Scripps News Indianapolis. "She told me that she was taking him home, and I knew that that wasn't true."
The grandmother told Fox 59 that after officers pulled over the vehicle minutes later to find Bryson gone, they told her the boy had likely been switched into a different vehicle quickly after he left her home. She also told the outlet she believes the Muir family had "brainwashed" Bryson into their lifestyle on the Logansport religious compound.
Fox 59 said it drove past the compound, which shows a "Welcome To Straitway Indiana Goshen" sign. A website for a Straitway Ministry lists Daniel as a pastor and "Goshen Community Head."
Daniel played college football at Kent State before going undrafted in the 2007 NFL draft. He signed with the Green Bay Packers that year and went on to play or participate on the practice squad of multiple teams before leaving the game in 2014. Those teams included the Indianapolis Colts, St. Louis Rams, New York Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders.
Police have now asked the public to come forward with any information on Bryson, who they believe is in extreme danger and may require medical assistance. Indiana State Police Peru can be reached at 765-513-9907 or 911.
And Wright told Scripps News Indianapolis she had a message for Daniel and Kristen:
If they are good parents and if they are good people and if they love their children, they will just show us that Bryson is okay. That's all we want. His family here is worried about him. He has an uncle, and he has a grandmother or great-grandmother that is worried about him.
