Former NFL player and wife arrested after missing son found at religious compound

The missing 14-year-old son of former Indiana Colts lineman Daniel Muir was found safe Wednesday after a state police SWAT team entered his family home in a church compound.

Bryson Muir appeared to be “safe and sound” and was in the custody of Cass County Child Protective Services, according to a state police news release.

Bryson had been considered missing and endangered since last month, after his grandmother told child protective services she believed he had been the victim of domestic violence by his father, according to previous HuffPost reports. Authorities had been unable to locate the teen after his grandmother made the report.

After finding Bryson, authorities took his parents, Kristin Muir, 38, and Daniel Muir, 40, into custody on charges of obstruction of justice.

Daniel Muir faces an additional charge of domestic violence, according to the press release.

“His face was bruised. When I got him, he had a black eye and a busted lip,” Bryson’s grandmother Cheryl Wright told Fox affiliate WXIN of the teen’s condition last month, when she decided to alert authorities.

Wright told the outlet that Bryson was “brainwashed” into his parents' lifestyle at a religious compound in Logansport, Indiana.

Although Bryson has not been seen since June 16, police issued a silver alert for him on June 28 after his parents backed out of a plan to bring their son to authorities.

A WXIN news crew visited the Muirs' property after Bryson disappeared and reported a sign for Straitway Truth Ministries.

The Tennessee-based organization is led by Pastor Charles Dowell and has 12 branches across the United States and Canada, according to its website. Daniel Muir is listed as pastor of the Indiana branch.

The organization has been described as a cult and has attracted several former NFL players as members, according to a Sports Illustrated investigation.

In a YouTube video posted after the arrests, Dowell spoke in front of a wall decorated with camouflage gear and assault rifles and attempted to cast doubt on media reporting on the case.

He said authorities entered the property with battering rams and a cat-bear during morning prayers and compared the incident to the raid in Waco, Texas, in which authorities besieged a Branch Davidian worship compound in 1993 and more than 80 people died.

No one was injured in this week's raid in Indiana, according to state police.

Sergeant Steven Glass told WXIN the operation went “peacefully” because police made contact with the Muirs immediately during the search.

“With anything of this nature, we have to be well prepared, going into the unknown,” Glass told the outlet.

Need help? In the United States, call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for assistance. National Domestic Violence Hotline.