A 16-year-old girl who was declared missing in the United States has been found after she used a hand gesture that went viral on TikTok. The gesture is popular on TikTok to signal that someone is in danger.
The girl was reported missing by her parents in North Carolina on Tuesday (11/2/2021), and was found in a car in Kentucky two days later. James Herbert Brick, the man who kidnapped the girl, was taken into custody a few days later.
A driver reported seeing a girl in the car who had her hands raised and her palms facing out. He then bends his thumb into the palm of his hand, followed by the other four fingers.
The driver recognized the gesture from a TikTok video that went viral and was used by someone in danger to seek help. The driver saw the girl looking in danger, then called the police and followed the car.
The police then stopped the car as it exited the expressway, and found the girl in the passenger seat. The girl told police she had been taken by Brick through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio.
61-year-old Brick was later charged with unlawful imprisonment, and possession of material that exhibits sexual acts, as quoted from Gizmodo, Tuesday (9/11/2021).
The hand gesture used by the girl went viral on TikTok and several other social media platforms. According to the Canadian Women's Foundation, this gesture can be used by someone to show that they are in danger.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SIGNAL
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
— Halton Police (@HaltonPolice) August 24, 2021
This gesture went viral through the 'Signal for Help' campaign that spread on social media at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this gesture is to help victims of domestic violence to seek help using non-verbal cues.
A person is advised to use this hand gesture while in front of the camera, or any other situation where they cannot talk about their situation freely or have difficulty calling for help.
