TikTok

Missing NC Teen Found After Using TikTok Hand Sign Alerting She Was in Danger

Close-up of hand holding a cellphone displaying icon for the TikTok video sharing app, Lafayette, California, September 22, 2021.
Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images (File)

File photo.

Authorities were able to find a missing 16-year-old girl after she caught the attention of a driver by using hand gestures popularized on the social media platform TikTok.

According to the Laurel County sheriff's office in Kentucky, the girl was inside a silver colored Toyota car when another driver saw her using hand signals known on TikTok "to represent violence at home – I need help – domestic violence."

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After recognizing what the signals meant and seeing that the teen "appeared to be in distress," the driver called 911, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

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The alert led to the arrest of 61-year-old James Herbert Brick of Cherokee, North Carolina on Thursday afternoon while driving the near a Kentucky interstate.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com.

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