LONDON (Ky.) — A 16 year-old girl was taken hostage by a 612-year-old man. She was rescued from Kentucky’s interstate highway after another driver saw her use a distress signal that was popularized on TikTok.
Last week, the girl’s parents reported her missing from Asheville (North Carolina). Two days later, the girl’s parents reported their daughter missing from Asheville, North Carolina. The alert driver and her hand signal enabled Kentucky sheriff’s deputies to pull over the car and make James Herbert Brick, Cherokee, North Carolina, an arrest for unlawful imprisonment and possession material showing a minor sexual performance, Deputy Gilbert Acciardo stated.
The driver and the girl were friends. She initially accepted the man’s offer to drive her, but she became scared. Acciardo, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office told The Lexington Herald-Leader that the girl eventually became afraid. According to a sheriff’s report, the man took her to Ohio to see his family and then left her there after realizing she was missing.
On Thursday, the other driver dialed 911 from Interstate 75, Laurel County in Kentucky to report that a girl riding in a silver Toyota car was using distress hand signals that he recognized on TikTok. It was a plea for domestic violence help. To signal, raise your hand and extend your thumb. Next, tuck your thumb under your palm to catch the thumb.
Officials claim that the driver followed the girl and her man, updating a dispatcher until they were able stop the Toyota and rescue their daughter.
According to the sheriff’s statement, images found on a cellphone in the possession of the man had images that “portrayed a juvenile girl in a sexual way.” Brick was taken into custody at the Laurel County Correctional Center on a $10,000 bond pending a hearing in court on Tuesday.
