"Shortly after that, I got a call from my mum. She said she couldn't contact my dad," Ms Jin Drexel, who lives in the US, told the BBC.
Within hours her family realised that Mr Jin had also been caught up in what has been described by activists as China's largest arrest of Christians in decades. Some now fear that last weekend's roundup of 30 Christians linked to the Zion Church network, which Mr Jin founded, marks the start of what could be a wider crackdown on underground churches.
They point to new laws passed in China which appear aimed at curbing underground church activity, and increasing pressure exerted by authorities on church members in recent months.
