Missing Teen Rescued After Making a Hand Signal She Learned from TikTok for Help

(CNN) – A North Carolina teenager who had gone missing was rescued by Kentucky police after she asked for help with a hand gesture known on TikTok for depicting domestic violence, according to police.

The 16-year-old from Asheville, North Carolina, was reported missing by her parents on Tuesday, according to the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office in Kentucky. On Thursday, a motorist in Kentucky called 911 to report that he saw a girl in distress in a vehicle on the interstate.

“The complainant was behind the vehicle and noticed that a female passenger in the vehicle was making hand gestures that on the social media platform TikTok are known to represent domestic violence: I need help, domestic violence,” the statement read read. Friday by the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office.

The gesture is a one-handed signal that someone can use when distressed, according to the Canadian Women’s Foundation. Someone using the signal raises the hand palm out, then sticks the thumb into the hand and then closes the fingers to catch the thumb.

Police told CNN affiliate WYMT that the teen had learned the gesture on TikTok. The person who called 911 stayed behind the vehicle for several miles relaying information to police, according to WYMT. Police were able to stop the car and rescue the teenager.

The suspect originally took the teenager from North Carolina to Ohio, where he has relatives, police said. They left Ohio after family members discovered the teenager was a minor and reported her missing, according to police.

“We don’t know how long since Ohio down the interstate I had been doing this with other motorists in the hopes that they would realize I was in trouble, but eventually someone figured out,” said Laurel County Deputy Sheriff Gilbert. Acciardo, to WYMT.

Police arrested the man on Thursday and charged him with unlawful imprisonment and possession of a sexual performance matter by a minor (older than 12 but younger than 18).