Former NFL player Daniel Muir and his wife have been charged and accused of hiding their teenage son from authorities after concerns arose that the boy was abused.
Bryson Muir, 14, was found safe Wednesday morning when Indiana State Police and local authorities searched the family’s home in Logansport with a warrant, state police said in a statement. Bryson was last seen leaving his grandmother’s home in Ohio on June 16.
Daniel Muir is charged with obstruction of justice and domestic battery. His wife, Kristin Muir, is also charged with obstruction, police said.
Kristin Muir’s mother, Cheryl Wright, told NBC affiliate WTHR of Indianapolis last week that she had picked up her grandson in Toledo, Ohio, at the request of his parents. While Bryson was in her care, she saw the boy had a black eye, a split lip and a swollen face, she said.
“He just said that his dad did it, but he wasn’t angry, but he wasn’t angry at his father,” Wright said. “He told me that he deserved it and it was OK. So I told him that it wasn’t and that nobody should beat their children like that, not if they love them.”
A photo included in Bryson’s silver alert shows him with a bruised eye. According to WTHR, Wright shared the photo with police.
Wright called local police on June 16 after Bryson’s parents came to pick him up, accompanied by an unidentified man, but Bryson was no longer in the vehicle when it was pulled over minutes after it left her home, authorities said.
State police said they were asked to assist in a domestic battery investigation two days later. Investigators had spoken with Daniel and Kristin Muir, who agreed to a meeting with Bryson.
But the couple never took the teenage boy to meet with investigators, authorities said.
The silver alert, which was issued Sunday, said Bryson was considered “missing and endangered.”
Bryson is in the custody of Cass County Department of Child Services. He appeared “safe and well,” state police said.
Court records were not immediately available for Daniel and Kristin Muir. It is unclear whether the couple, who were taken to the Cass County Jail, have an attorney.
Daniel Muir is a former NFL defensive tackle, having played for multiple teams from 2007 to 2014.
According to his ESPN profile, he was signed to the Indianapolis Colts for four seasons. Muir gave motivational speeches after he retired, The Indianapolis Star reported.
