Missing 16-Year-Old Rescued After Using Popular TikTok Hand Gesture
Image via Halton Police
A missing 16-year-old girl could’ve saved her own life by using a gesture that went viral on TikTok. The teen, who was from North Carolina but was found in Kentucky during a traffic stop, had alerted a 911 caller with the hand signal, which is understood to mean “violence at home,” “I need help,” or “domestic violence.”
According to Fox8, 61-year-old James Herbert Brick, from Cherokee, North Carolina, had driven the teen to Ohio, where his relatives lived. However, once his family members realized the girl had been abducted, Brick left Ohio with the girl in the front passenger seat, while she tried to signal to passing drivers for help.
The Laurel County Sheriff’s Office eventually received a call from a passerby, who said they had seen a vehicle in which the young girl made hand gestures signaling she needed help either due to “domestic violence” or “violence at home.”
As reported by NBC News, the hand gestures used by the teen were first popularized by the Canadian Women’s Foundation last year. A person who was in danger or needed help would hold up their hand to a passerby before tucking their thumb into their palm, then clasping their remaining fingers over it. It then went viral on TikTok, which helped spread awareness of the signal and what it meant.
Following this incident, according to Mashable, Kentucky police are joining the initiative to spread awareness of the hand gesture, which could save victims, such as the 16-year-old, in precarious situations.
One of the most popular videos on TikTok of the signal, as shown by Insider, had garnered over three-and-a-half million views—which could be where the passerby learned of it.
Upon his arrest, investigators found a phone in Brick’s possession that “allegedly portrayed a juvenile female in a sexual manner.” He is now facing charges for unlawful imprisonment of the teen, as well as possession of material showing a sex performance by a minor over the age of 12 but under 18.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SIGNAL
— Halton Police (@HaltonPolice) August 24, 2021
Isolation can increase the risk of violence at home. Use this discrete gesture during a video call to show you need help:
1. Hold hand up with palm facing other person.
2. Tuck thumb into palm.
3. Fold fingers down over thumb. pic.twitter.com/gsIgSbXOmc
[via Mashable and NBC News, cover image via Halton Police]
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