Grandmother of ex-NFL player's missing child speaks out amid probe, worries teen is 'brainwashed'
The grandmother of the missing 14-year-old son of former Indianapolis Colts defensive lineman Daniel Muir spoke out Monday as police in Indiana investigate allegations that the boy was abused.
Bryson Muir was the subject of a Silver Alert put out in the state on Friday. Police released two photos of the teenager, one of which showed the boy with a swollen eye. Daniel Muir is a person of interest in the case after failing to cooperate with the investigation, according to FOX 59.
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Cheryl Wright, the boy’s grandmother, expressed her concerns to FOX 59. She was the one who tipped off police about the possible abuse the teenager was facing. She said she believed Bryson Muir was beaten by his father and that her grandson was "brainwashed" into living on a religious compound in Logansport. She last saw the boy on June 16, when he was with his mother, Kristen Muir.
"His face was battered. When I got him he had a black eye and busted lip," Wright told the station. "His whole face was swollen. I can only imagine how many times he had been hit in the face for it to be like that."
Wright said she believed it was Daniel Muir who gave his son the black eye. She said the boy did not want to talk about what happened, and that caused her to call the police.
Police eventually got to Kristen Muir’s SUV, but the boy was not in the car.
"The officers believe that he had probably been switched into another car," Wright said.
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On Friday, police issued a Silver Alert and were worried that Bryson was in "extreme danger."
Police said the Muirs agreed to bring their son to meet with Indiana State Police investigators at noon ET on Friday, according to FOX 59. However, the Muirs reportedly backed out an hour before the meeting. Police said it "signaled an unwillingness to cooperate."
Wright worried about the Muirs’ involvement with the Servant Leader Foundation, a nonprofit religious group that takes residence in Logansport. However, the station noted there is no sign outside the property that signals the group’s name, rather there is a sign that reads Straightaway Gohsen.
"Bryson is so conditioned or brainwashed to their way of living that he wanted to go back," Wright said. "As I tried to get my daughter to leave he ran out of the house and left with them."
Police have asked residents if they know the whereabouts of the Muirs or their son, to contact the Indiana State Police Peru Post at (800) 382-0689 or call 911.
No arrests have been made.
Bryson Muir is described as a 6 foot, 2 inch tall, 185 pound Black male with brown eyes. He was last seen wearing an orange Under Armour shirt and blue jeans.
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