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North Carolina Teen Rescued After Using TikTok Signal to Get Help

The 16-year-old was being held captive in a car when she alerted a passerby.

A 16-year-old missing teen from North Carolina who was being held by a 61-year-old man was rescued after using sign language made popular on TikTok to alert a passerby that she was in trouble. The girl signaled to the driver of a car behind her at a stop light in Kentucky who recognized the sign to represent “violence at home” or “domestic violence” on the popular social media network. That driver then contacted authorities and followed the car until they pulled them over, according to local media reports. The girl, who had been reported missing by her family in Asheville on Tuesday, allegedly was taken by James Herbert Brick to his relatives’ home in Ohio. When his relatives realized the girl was underage, Brick left with her, authorities said. Investigators found photos of the girl on Brick’s phone and charged him with unlawful imprisonment and possession of matter showing sex performances by a minor.