Missing Woman's Family Gets Disturbing Text Message From Her Cell Phone: 'The Girl With This Phone Is Dead

It's scary enough to have close friend or a relative go missing. But a New York City family is caught in the middle of an especially-bizarre case after receiving a disturbing text message from Rajwinder Kaur's (the missing woman in question) cell phone. Kaur, 26, vanished on Sunday evening; she was last seen around 8 p.m. at her Queens home. Rajwinder was apparently on her way to volunteer at a Brooklyn shelter at the time.

Following her disappearance, the sent text message read, "The girl with this phone is dead was smiling." The note, which is convoluted, reached Gurpreet Kaur, the woman's sister, around 9:40 p.m. that same night. Relatives claim that Rajwinder, a former social worker, would have never sent such a message herself.

"I was reading it and it didn't make sense and I worried, what's going on?" Gurpreet said in an interview with CBS New York.

While the family seems to believe that foul play is at the root of the young woman's disappearance, sources tell CBS otherwise. According to a report, some within the NYPD allegedly believe that Rajwinder sold some of her belongings on eBay, joined a cult and sent the text to let her family know: "the old Rajwinder is dead to you; the new Rajwinder is with us."

Her family, naturally, rejects this theory, with her cousin, among others, claiming that "she's not an extremist." Also, they note that there's no evidence of her using credit cards, her cell phone and other tools that one would purportedly need, regardless of cult membership. Regardless, they also believe that she's alive.

Stay tuned for more updates on this bizarre story.

(H/T: CBS New York)