Missing Teen Girl Found After Using Hand Signal She Learned From TikTok

By Darby Jones November 8, 2021

A girl being held captive was rescued on an interstate highway in Kentucky after another driver noticed her using a distress signal with her hand that was made popular on TikTok.

A 16-year-old girl was reported missing by her parents in Asheville, North Carolina last week — she was rescued by police two days later in Kentucky after using a hand gesture known on TikTok to represent violence at home.

“The complainant was behind the vehicle and noticed a female passenger in the vehicle making hand gestures that are known on the social media platform ‘Tik Tok’ to represent violence at home — I need help — domestic violence,” reads the statement posted on Friday by the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.

The hand gesture is a one-handed signal that someone can use if in distress, according to the Canadian Women’s Foundation. To use the signal, one holds their hand up with their palm facing out, then tucks their thumb into their hand and closes their fingers to trap their thumb.

The girl told officers she had travelled through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. Police arrested James Herbert Brick, 61, of Cherokee, North Carolina.

Image source: Sky News