Former Colts DL Daniel Muir arrested after missing son found safe and sound

Former Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Daniel Muir was arrested Wednesday along with his wife, Kristen Muir, after their 14-year-old son, who had been reported missing two weeks earlier, was found at their Logansport, Indiana, home.

Indiana State Police executed a search warrant and arrested Daniel Muir. He is charged with domestic violence, a first-class misdemeanor, and obstruction of justice, a felony. Kristen Muir is charged with obstruction of justice.

Bryson Muir is “well and safe” and is now in the care of the Cass County Department of Child Services, said ISP Sergeant Steven Glass.

According to the Garfield Heights, Ohio, police incident summary, Bryson’s grandmother, Cheryl Wright, called police on June 16 to report that “her grandson was being abused.” Wright told Indianapolis station FOX59/CBS4 this week that she took a photo of her grandson’s injuries.

“His face was bruised,” she said. “When I got him, he had a black eye and a split lip. His whole face was swollen. I can only imagine how many times he had been hit in the face to make it look like that.”

Wright said Bryson told her his father was responsible for the injuries. According to the call summary, Wright said she picked up Bryson earlier and brought him to her home because he was being abused. She called police when Bryson’s mother, Kristen, arrived at her home and left with Bryson. Immediately after Wright called the report at 7:53 a.m., police found Kristen and stopped her in her vehicle. However, according to the call summary, Bryson was not in the car.

Investigators in Indiana have had difficulty making contact with Daniel, 40, and Kristen, 38. FOX59 reported that Daniel and Kristen agreed on June 28 to meet with ISP and bring Bryson, who had not been seen since leaving his grandmother’s house in Ohio. But an hour before the scheduled meeting, they canceled, prompting police to issue a statewide alert saying Bryson could be in “extreme danger” and may need medical attention.

Glass told reporters that officers found Bryson and his parents immediately after executing the search warrant at 6 a.m. Wednesday. Glass said the operation was “peaceful.”

FOX59 reported that three SWAT teams, detectives, canine units and a bomb disposal squad were involved in the operation and that they were prepared to search several buildings on the property.

“With anything like this, we have to be well prepared to go into the unknown,” Glass told reporters. “In the end, everything turned out well and everyone is safe, including Bryson.”

The property at 1740 W. US Highway 24 is called “Straitway Goshen” because it is one of about a dozen satellites of the extreme religious movement Straitway Truth Ministry, a Hebrew-Israelite group led by Charles Dowell of Lafayette, Tennessee. Straitway Truth Ministry encourages its members to live together in isolated communities.

In March 2020, Daniel purchased the 59-acre property in Logansport and a home on the property for $450,000. The property is now owned by the Servant Leaders Foundation and Daniel has the title of “Pastor.” On Straitway’s website, he is listed as the contact and leader of the Straitway Indiana location. There are several buildings on the Logansport property, and Muir regularly posts YouTube updates about new buildings being built on the property.

In a 2020 interview with Sports Illustrated, Daniel said his wife and children lived with him on the property, but would not say whether other families who attend services at Straitway Goshen also live there, including their most famous member, five-time Pro Bowler and Colts Ring of Honor inductee Robert Mathis. Mathis confirmed his involvement at Straitway in a 2020 interview with Sports Illustrated, and his personal Facebook account features several photos of him with Muir and the Indiana community’s families.

ISP said additional people were arrested and questioned at the property on Wednesday, but did not release their names. Daniel and Kristen were the only two arrested.

Daniel Muir played defensive tackle for Indianapolis from 2008 to 2011.