Driver Recognizes Hand Signal Spreading on TikTok, Saves Teenage Girl from Kidnapping Threat

As domestic violence increased following the implementation of COVID-19 shutdown measures, the Women's Funding Network in the United States and the Canadian Women's Foundation created a distress signal for requesting help.
[Photo by YouTube]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A story has emerged about a driver in the United States who noticed a teenage girl's distress signal and reported it, leading to her rescue.

According to NBC News and others on the 6th (local time), a driver passing through a highway in Kentucky on the afternoon of the 4th witnessed a distress signal from a 16-year-old girl riding in a silver Toyota vehicle.

The driver immediately reported it, and James Herbert Brick (61), who had kidnapped the girl, was arrested.

The Laurel County Sheriff's Office stated that they received a report from a driver at the time saying, "A girl was making a distress signal meaning 'domestic violence' and 'help request.'"

The distress signal sent by the girl involves extending the palm, folding the thumb inward, and then wrapping the other fingers around the thumb to make a fist.

This signal was created by the Women's Funding Network in the U.S. and the Canadian Women's Foundation in response to the increase in domestic violence following the COVID-19 shutdown measures.

Investigations revealed that the girl had already been reported missing in North Carolina on the morning of the 2nd.

According to reports, at the time of arrest, Brick was on his way to Ohio where the girl had relatives. Additionally, sexually explicit photos of the girl were found on Brick's cellphone.

He is currently charged with unlawful confinement and possession of materials depicting sexual acts involving a minor, and is detained at the Laurel County Correctional Center.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.