Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Missing 16-Year-Old Girl Rescued After Flashing TikTok Distress Hand Signals To Alert Driver

Missing 16-Year-Old Girl Rescued After Flashing TikTok Distress Hand Signals To Alert Driver
Laurel County Sheriff's Office

Thanks to a hand signal from TikTok, a missing 16-year-old girl was rescued by a nearby driver who recognized the sign.

Kentucky police pulled over and arrested James Herbert Brick after the person in the car behind his truck noticed the hand gestures and called 911.


The signal the teenager gave is known as the "Violence at Home Signal For Help" on TikTok. The viral video reached over one million likes.


@forsure7

Visit TikTok to discover videos!

The hand signal has three signs:

"Violence at home."
"I need help."
"Domestic violence."

The Canadian Women's Foundation says the sign is made by facing the palm of the hand out, crossing your thumb across the palm, and then closing your fist over the thumb to "trap" it.

Brick, age 61, traveled with the underage girl from Cherokee, North Carolina, to Ohio where Brick had relatives. His relatives reported the girl missing when they realized she was under 18. Allegedly, that is when Brick took the girl to Kentucky.

The teenager's parents reported her missing in Asheville, North Carolina, last week.

Deputies found a photo of an underage female being portrayed in a sexual manner on a phone in Brick's possession.

Brick was charged with unlawful imprisonment after being stopped by Laurel County Police.

He is currently being held in Laurel County Correctional Center with the additional charge of possession of content showing sexual activity by a minor.

The Canadian Women's Foundation intended this to be used for video calls during isolation.

"The Signal for Help is a tool that may help some people, some of the time."
"Some people do not have the ability to make video calls."
"Please find other resources, services, and programs... that may be helpful in an unsafe situation at home."

The viral TikTok was circulating in June of 2020, when isolation due to the pandemic increased domestic violence.

As it stood before the pandemic, globally one in three women experienced physical or sexual violence, mostly from intimate partners. According to the United Nations, domestic violence cases increased 20% during what they call the "Shadow Pandemic."

Axios said that Iowa reported the deaths of 17 people at the hands of domestic abusers in 2021.

Thankfully, TikTok continues to share public service posts raising awareness about the signals that have become vital to helping victims like the North Carolina teenager.

More from Trending

Screenshot of Karoline Leavitt
C-SPAN

Leavitt Hit With U.S. History Lesson After Chastising France For Wanting Statue Of Liberty Back

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was given a quick history lesson when she displayed her ignorance by telling France that the U.S. is the only reason they aren't "speaking German right now."

Leavitt made the remark in response to a question from Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy regarding comments made over the weekend by French MEP Raphaël Glucksmann.

Keep ReadingShow less
Meteorologist Goes Viral After Donning Iconic 'Clueless' Outfit For Weather Report

Meteorologist Goes Viral After Donning Iconic 'Clueless' Outfit For Weather Report

Bad weather? As if!

An ITV meteorologist in the UK channeled Alicia Silverstone's main character energy—and line delivery—in a recent morning weather report.

Keep ReadingShow less
Demi Lovato
@ddlovato/TikTok

Demi Lovato Asked ChatGPT To Roast Her—And The Results Had Her Cackling

AI tools like ChatGPT definitely have their downsides—like those creepy uncanny valley images it makes and the fact that it's basically using up all available water on the planet.

However! The upshot is that they are getting very good at jokes, especially jokes at other people's expense.

Keep ReadingShow less
Larry speaking at the Wisconsin capitol
WisconsinEye

Wisconsin Man Goes Viral For Changing His Mind On Anti-Trans Bill After Listening To Trans People

An elderly Wisconsin conservative who was invited to speak at a public hearing in support of a piece of anti-trans legislation had a change of heart

The man, named Larry, attended Wednesday night's public hearing to support the state's Assembly Bill 104, which seeks to prohibit gender-affirming care for minors.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump; Joe Biden
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Trump Slammed After Claiming That Biden's Pardons Are 'VOID' For Bonkers Reason

President Donald Trump was slammed after declaring in a post on Truth Social that former President Joe Biden's pardons are "void" because they were done by autopen.

In the final hours of his presidency, Biden issued a series of preemptive pardons, including ones for his relatives, all members of the House committee that investigated the January 6 attack—such as former Congresswoman Liz Cheney—and several of former Trump’s most prominent adversaries, including General Mark Milley and Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Keep ReadingShow less