An underage girl from North Carolina was rescued  by police after she used the ‘signal for help’ hand gesture that was popularized on the social media platform ‘TikTok’ last year. The symbol itself began as a way for people to silently signal that they are in danger and was adopted as part of a public awareness campaign sponsored by a Canadian woman’s foundation. During the time of Covid, when many folks were forced into close quarantine situations with people who were abusive, the signal began making its way across the internet and became fairly well recognized by younger people and by law enforcement as well.

While the use of the gesture was originally intended to help people in domestic abuse situations, the hand gesture was used recently by a young woman who had been abducted by a 61 year old man in North Carolina and was being held against her will and was being transported across state lines. A 911 caller told the dispatcher that he had observed the young woman giving the ‘signal for help’ and decided to follow the vehicle while alerting police. Authorities responded and discovered that the young woman had been reported missing two days earlier in Asheville, North Carolina. The man named James Herbert Brick, 61, was arrested and charged with unlawful imprisonment and possession of child pornography. “I really believe that this girl’s life was saved,” the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office spokesman, Deputy Gilbert Acciardo, told local news reporters.

While many folks get angry about social media trends, this is a social media trend that can literally save lives. So, do yourself a favor, and familiarize yourself with the gesture. We all hope that none of us ever needs to know this gesture, but it is always better to be safe than sorry, so memorize the gesture because doing so could literally be the difference between life and death,

Sources:

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/07/1053379763/a-girl-was-rescued-by-police-after-she-used-a-distress-signal-popularized-on-tik

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/11/08/tik-tok-hand-sign-kidnapper/