Teen's Family Is Traumatized After Her Body Was Mysteriously Found Dead in Walk-in Oven, Community Members Say
Gursimran Kaur was remembered as a "beautiful" young woman with "big dreams" who had recently immigrated to Canada
Gursimran Kaur’s mom “is telling everyone that she wants justice for her daughter,” said a local member of the Sikh community in Halifax, Canada
Another local echoed that, saying, "The immediate family is absolutely shocked. They are in kind of a trauma
Police say their investigation is ongoing and have cautioned against speculation
Gursimran Kaur arrived in Canada from India “with big dreams” and had been working at her local Walmart in Halifax for about two years when, according to one account, the 19-year-old appeared to vanish during a shift earlier this month.
Her mother also worked with her and went looking for where she’d gone, members of the Maritime Sikh Society, who say Kaur’s family is a part of their community, wrote in a fundraiser set up to support them.
Kaur's mom "asked around, but everyone brushed [that] aside thinking that she [Kaur] may be somewhere helping a customer,” the society wrote in its fundraiser. “Walmart is a superstore after all!”
Strangely, Kaur’s phone “was not reachable,” according to the society, and her mom “started panicking as it was unusual for her to switch her phone off during the day.”
Within hours on Oct. 19, Kaur’s mom discovered her body in a walk-in oven in the store bakery — a tragedy that has devastated her loved ones and remains under investigation, according to police and the Sikh community.
“Of course, the immediate family is absolutely shocked. They are in kind of a trauma,” Harjit Seyan, the Maritime Sikh Society president, told Canada’s Global News.
Related: Teenage Walmart Employee Was 'Locked in' Store Oven Before Being Found Dead, Emergency Audio Shows
Satnam Randhawa, a Maritime Sikh Society board member, echoed that, telling NBC News, “The first day I saw [Kaur’s mom] was the day the incident happened. She was really distraught. She was really in great pain.”
Balbir Singh, the society’s secretary, told the CBC that Kaur’s mom “is telling everyone that she wants justice for her daughter.”
“She is not in a state where she wants all of this to be hushed up," he said.
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Kaur’s father and brother have been in their native India, according to the Sikh society, which wrote in its fundraiser that “we are trying to get them here as soon as possible.” The CBC reported that they live in India’s state of Punjab.
About $140,000 was raised for the family before donations stopped being accepted so the money could be disbursed, the Sikh society wrote. They remembered Kaur as a "beautiful girl."
“Your kindness and generosity have been a source of strength for the family as they navigate through this tragedy,” organizers wrote.
Singh, the society's secretary, previously told PEOPLE “this fundraising started with permission from the immediate family, and all the proceedings will go to [Gursimran's] mother.”
Halifax police have so far released few public details beyond noting that their work will be complicated and “may take a significant amount of time.”
“We urge the public to be mindful of sharing speculative information on social media,” police said in a statement last week. “Please be aware of the impacts that speculation could have on family, colleagues and loved ones of the woman."
"It is important to note that the investigation has not yet reached a point where the cause and manner of death have been confirmed," police said.
The Walmart where Kaur worked remains closed, according to a company spokeswoman.
"Our deepest thoughts are with our associate and their family," said the spokeswoman, Amanda Moss. "Our focus remains on taking care of our associates and making sure they have the support they need."