The founder of a Christian boys’ boarding school in rural Missouri and his wife have been charged with first-degree kidnapping following reports of runaways and allegations of abuse at the facility.

Larry Charles Musgraves Jr., 57, and his wife Carmen Grizel Musgraves, 64, were arrested Friday, the Wayne County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release. 

Both worked at ABM Ministries Lighthouse Christian Academy, a private Christian boarding school in Piedmont, Missouri, that serves boys aged 10 to 13, the sheriff’s department said. Musgraves is the founder and pastor of ABM Ministries, according to his LinkedIn page.

The 25,000-square-foot campus sits on 250 acres near the Ozarks and the academy markets itself as a special campus for troubled or “learning impaired” youth, according to the facility’s website. 

Piedmont is a rural city in southeastern Missouri, about 130 miles south of St. Louis, with a population of around 1,900. 

The sheriff’s department had received several calls regarding “runaways” from the facility, and an investigation into the boarding school opened several months ago, the release said.

The arrests come a little over a week after The Kansas City Star published an article detailing how several boys had run away from the boarding school since Jan. 13 this year. 

In the investigation, Sheriff Finch was contacted by a former student and traveled to Albertville, Alabama, to interview the victim. From there, Finch came into contact with other former students and “interviews are forth coming.”

On Friday, the sheriff’s department arrived at the boarding school and all children were interviewed by department officers from Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Division of Drug and Crime Control, officials said.

Larry Musgraves was located at his camper on the property and arrested, the release said. His wife was arrested hours later when she showed up to the sheriff’s department to check on her husband.

Authorities did not disclose what led them to charge the couple with kidnapping. The sheriff’s department said “this investigation is far from over” and more charges are anticipated as “more alleged victims coming forward.”

Reports of runaways and abuse

The Kansas City Star article published late February said a woman named Cierra Osborn was stopped by two runaways from the boarding school, aged 12 and 14, in January. The boys had walked for miles without coats in cold temperatures and asked that she call 911. 

Osborn described the boys as “terrified and shaking” and said they told her the boarding school staff would berate them and hit them for things like failing to do their chores fast enough. 

Wayne County Sheriff Dean Finch told the paper that five boys had run away from the school since mid-January and have been “returned home.” 

Calls to ABM Ministries went unanswered Monday.

Missouri’s Department of Social Services declined to comment whether they are investigating the boarding school, citing state law that says “information related to specific child abuse and neglect investigations is closed and confidential.”

“When it comes to children, Sheriff Finch will leave no stone unturned until all victims are interviewed. We know the citizens are concerned as well that nothing was being done, however we can’t disclose what we are doing on cases,” the news release said, while asking for patience.

Musgraves and his wife are being held at Wayne County Jail in Greenville, Missouri, without bond. It’s not immediately clear if they have retained lawyers.