CASS COUNTY — The once missing 14-year-old from Logansport that garnered wide attention in the area has been located safe and his parents are in custody, according to Indiana State Police.
According to state police, the teen is in Department of Child Services care.
Last week, a Silver Alert was issued for the teen who had last been seen leaving his Grandma's Cheryl Wright's house in Ohio with his mother, in a white 2015 Chevrolet Suburban belonging to Servant Leader’s Foundation in Kokomo.
The teen's father, Daniel Muir, is a former Indianapolis Colts defensive tackle.
According to court documents, Cheryl Wright noticed the teen had a black eye as a result of a punishment from his father. The teen's uncle recorded a phone call with Daniel Muir asking why the teen was in trouble.
The father made allegations of inappropriate behavior by the teen and told the uncle he "whooped his ass like a grown ass man," according to court documents.
A probable cause affidavit states Daniel Muir provided Indiana State Police with a video of the teen in a undisclosed wooded area. In the video, the teen can be seen saying, "my father did not punch me in the eye."
According to court documents, Daniel Muir told investigators the teen was punched by an "unknown individual" and that's when they decided to take him to his grandmother's house for a few days. However, they brought him back to Indiana after Cheryl Wright was "making decisions Kristen Muir did not agree with."
On their way home from picking the teen up from his grandmother's house, Kristen and Daniel Muir were pulled over by police but the 14-year-old was missing from the vehicle, police say. However, the mother and father's stories regarding the traffic stop were inconsistent when each were separately interviewed by police.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Daniel Muir admitted he took the teen to another location because DCS was looking for him and he wanted to protect his family. He would not tell police the location.
On Friday, June 28, Daniel and Kristen Muir agreed to meet with Indiana State Police investigators but later backed out.
Daniel Muir faces a preliminary charge of obstruction of justice and a preliminary charge of domestic battery.
Indiana State Police are searching the property in Cass County owned by Servant Leader's Foundation. A sign saying “Welcome to Straitway Indiana Goshen” sits on that property.
WRTV dig a deeper dive into Straitway Truth Ministries, a religious group based out of Tennessee.
We spoke with journalist Kalyn Kahler who’s now with ESPN, but reported on the group during her time at Sports Illustrated.
Watch what she had to say about the organization in the video below.
On Wednesday, Cheryl Wright spoke with WRTV on the phone saying, "Today is a great day. I feel so much relief even though there is a long road ahead."
WATCH | Interview with the teen's grandmother from June
The Muir's attorney released the following statement:
I urge the community and media to avoid drawing premature conclusions. The Muir family has been improperly targeted and is not guilty of any abuse or unlawful activity. They are entitled to their day in court and due process.
At 1 p.m. on Wednesday, July 3, the couple were in court in Cass County. They were both denied bond due to being a flight risk, according to Judge Steven Kitts.
They are due back in court on July 16 for another hearing.
