The grandmother of former Colts defensive tackle Daniel Muir’s missing son is speaking out about the 14-year-old’s disappearance, the alleged abuse he suffered at the hands of his father and the Indiana religious group she believes “brainwashed” the teen.
“His face was battered,” said Cheryl Wright, grandmother of the missing Bryson Muir and mother-in-law of Daniel Muir. Fox59 Indianapolis of his last encounter with his grandson outside their Cleveland-area home. “When I picked him up (Bryson) 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 get him like that.”
On Friday, Indiana police issued a Silver Alert for Bryson, who is believed to be in extreme danger amid allegations of abuse against his parents. The teen was last seen leaving his grandmother’s home in Ohio on June 16, according to Indiana State Police. Officers have since described parents Daniel and Kristen as uncooperative after reneging on an agreement to bring their son to meet with PSI investigators last week.
“The agreement was to meet at 12:00 p.m. At approximately 11:00 a.m., the Muirs backed out of that agreement, indicating an unwillingness to cooperate,” a police statement read.
Wright alerted police about the alleged abuse after seeing her grandson’s bruised face on June 16. But when his mother Kristen went to pick up Bryson, the younger Muir fled his grandmother’s home and got into his mother’s white 2015 Chevrolet Suburban. He has not been seen since.
Bryson Muir (pictured with a black eye) is missing and believed to be in extreme danger.
Bryson is the son of former Indianapolis Colts nose tackle Daniel Muir, 40 (pictured)
“Bryson is so conditioned or so brainwashed by their way of life that he wanted to come back,” Wright said. “When I tried to convince my daughter to leave, she ran out of the house and left with them.”
Ohio police stopped the Chevy shortly after, but by that time, Bryson was no longer in his mother’s vehicle.
“Officers believe he probably had a different car,” Wright said.
Wright is concerned about the Muirs’ connection to the Servant Leader Foundation, an organization listed as the owner of Muir’s home and Chevy Suburban.
Additionally, Wright says he told police he believes Daniel caused Bryson’s black eye.
Bryson, she said, refused to talk to her about the injury or the events leading up to it, prompting her to call local police.
“I didn’t want to let him go,” Wright said. “I tried to call the police because he had been abused. It hurts me that someone could be beaten like that. It hurts me that my daughter would allow someone to do that to her son.”
Bryson, 14, is described as a black male, 6’2″ tall and 180 lbs, with black hair and brown eyes.
Former Colts nose tackle Daniel Muir has served as a pastor at Straitway Truth Ministries in Indiana.
Daniel, 40, is a Washington, D.C. native who played at Kent State before going undrafted in 2007. He eventually signed with the Green Bay Packers before spending three seasons with the Colts and parts of the 2012 campaign with the New York Jets.
Daniel has also served as pastor of the Indianapolis chapter for Straitway Truth Ministries, who describe themselves as a “nation of Hebrew Israelites.”
Former Packers star Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila also joined the ministry after speaking out against Christianity. according to SI.com.
Another former Colts player, Robert Mathis, has been linked to the organization, which has been described by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a potential hate group for its anti-LGBTQ and anti-Semitic ideology.
Efforts by DailyMail.com to contact the Muir family, the Servant Leader’s Foundation and Straitway Truth Ministries have been unsuccessful.
Police urge anyone with information to call Peru Post at 1-800-382-0689.