Kentucky
Missing 16-year-old attracts attention with a TikTok gesture – and is rescued
Thanks to a tiktok hand gesture, the police were able to rescue a missing teenage girl in Kentucky
© Scott Olson / AFP
Fortunately, for a missing teenage girl, her social media use turned into misfortune. The 16-year-old was rescued by the police after she called for help with a gesture known on TikTok.
Last Tuesday, a 16-year-old from Asheville, North Carolina, was reported missing by her parents. Two days later, a witness reported to the police in Laurel County, Kentucky, USA, who became aware of a teenage girl in a Toyota while driving a car. The man noticed that she made gestures with her hands, “which are known on the social media platform TikTok to symbolize domestic violence,” according to the statement Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.
The hand gesture is loud Canadian Women’s Foundation a one-handed sign that someone in need can use. Hold your hand palm out, then put your thumb in your hand, and then close your fingers to pinch your thumb. As the police told the US news portal WYMT, the teenager had learned the hand gesture on TikTok.
61-year-old suspect arrested
The witness who called 911 stayed behind the vehicle for about seven miles, according to WYMT, and passed information to the police. Eventually the police were able to stop the car, rescue the girl and arrest the 61-year-old suspect for deprivation of liberty. The police also found sexualized images of a minor on his cell phone.
“We don’t know how long they did this [Zeichen] on the Ohio freeway to other drivers in hopes they would notice she was in distress, but eventually someone realized, “Laurel County’s Assistant Sheriff Gilbert Acciardo told WYMT.
Source: “CNN”