Kentucky police rescued a girl suffering from domestic violence by using hand gestures known on the famous social media platform TikTok to represent domestic violence after a complaint was made to 911, the police said.
A motorist called the police from the interstate after recognizing the gesture for help known on the social media platform.
The 16-year-old was reported by her parents as missing on Tuesday, as per the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office, Kentucky. On Thursday, Kentucky police received a call on 911 where a witness claimed he saw a girl in anguish in a car on the interstate.
“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” the statement read that was posted by the Laurel County Sheriff‘s Office on Friday.
The hand gesture can be used by someone when in distress, the Canadian Women’s Foundation says. It is signified by holding your hand up with your palm facing outwards, then tucking the thumb inside and closing the fingers on top of the thumb. Police said that the girl learned the hand gesture from a TikTok video.
The person who reported the incident to 911 stayed behind the suspected car for seven miles and relayed important information to police that resulted in recovering the teenager.
The suspect abducted the girl from North Carolina and took her to her relatives in Ohio. However, on finding out that the girl was a minor reported as missing, they forced the abductor out.
TikTok safety hand gestures
“We don’t know how long coming down the interstate from Ohio that she had been doing this to other motorists hoping that they would notice that she was in distress, but finally someone did recognize,” Laurel County Sheriff’s Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said to the media.
The abductor has been charged with unlawful imprisonment.