A teenage girl in Kentucky was rescued from a 61-year-old man after she flashed viral TikTok hand ..

[ItsjustMe]

A teenage girl in Kentucky was rescued from a 61-year-old man after she flashed viral TikTok hand gestures indicating domestic abuse

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/a-teenage-girl-in-kentucky-was-rescued-from-a-61-year-old-man-after-she-flashed-viral-tiktok-hand-gestures-indicating-domestic-abuse/ar-AAQoHYg

A missing North Carolina teen was reportedly rescued after she used a viral TikTok hand gesture to indicate she was in danger and needed help.

The 16-year-old was found in Kentucky on Thursday after a 911 caller reported that a female passenger riding in the car ahead of them was using the signals, Fox 8 Cleveland reported. According to the Laurel County Sheriff's Office, investigators on the scene found the driver, 61-year-old Herbert Brick, in possession of a photo of the teen engaged in sexual acts.

The teen was first reported missing by her parents in Asheville, North Carolina, on Tuesday, according to the report. Investigators discovered that Brick had driven with the girl to Ohio, though promptly left when relatives of Brick expressed concern about her age and discovered she had been reported missing.

Brick is currently at the Laurel County Correctional Center, where he was arrested for unlawful imprisonment and posession of content showing sexual activity by a minor, Fox8 reported.

The signals - a mix of three hand gestures that convey "violence at home," "I need help," and "domestic violence" - have spread on TikTok as a means to help victims of abuse.

[Joinfortmill]

1. Thank God she's safe

[Budi]

2. Here is the hand signal: kids, girls, boys gramas, grampas, ...

[niyad]

3. Thank you for posting the signals.

[Budi]

5. I think everyone should learn to recognize it.

Before this OP & btw thank you ItsJustMe, I would maybe have waved back or smiled at some child or teen making this hand signal to me, not realizing what it meant.

If its going around tiktok, then a lot of people who use that media, know of it.

I don't.
I would have missed the hand signal.

Thanks

[niyad]

6. Same here.

[Budi]

7. I'm going to ask my grandkids if they know of it

And their moms too.

Nice to see you Niyad

[niyad]

9. Nice to see you, !s well. I am going to ask a friend who is on TikTok if he knows

this, spread the word.

[niyad]

4. Thank goodness she is safe. And thank goodness for that alert person in the

other car.

[Tarc]

8. Problem is, once the signals reach this level of the mainstream, they're almost moot

as the abusers will start to learn what to look for.

It's still good advice, as not every abuser is internet-savvy, but we have to be aware of what the next new signal, gesture, etc...is.

[barbtries]

10. not only that,

but kids will start to do it for fun. I once had 6 cop cars storm my house thanks to my son and his friends calling 911 and hanging up. I asked the policeman to talk to them before i let them go.

[wnylib]

11. Not necessarily. A captor or

abuser can't watch someone every second. It is a silent gesture that can be done under cover of a shirt, jacket, or in a split second when an abuser is distracted by something. The greater risk is kids doing it as a joke, but the consequences might become a deterrent, tbe same as false bomb scares in a school.