A 16-year-old girl was rescued in Kentucky after using a hand gesture she learned on social media app TikTok to signal to motorists that she was in trouble, the Laurel County Sheriff's Office said.
The signal, facing the palm outwards and closing the fingers around the tucked thumb, has been demonstrated by users and non-profit organisations on TikTok as a way for a person being abused to tell someone they are in trouble without alerting the abuser.
On Thursday, the girl was in the front passenger seat and made the signals from inside the car, a spokesperson for the Laurel County Sheriff's Office said.
A driver recognised the sign and called 9-1-1, which dispatched law enforcement officers to intercept the vehicle.
"That hand gesture was everything. Had that not been...transmitted by the young lady, had there not been someone out there that knew how to interpret what she was doing, then who knows? We might not have had a good resolution on this," Deputy Gilbert Acciardo said.
"We think that motorists and law enforcement agencies nationwide should be aware of this and know what the signal means, and I think it can be quite useful in the future," he said.
James Herbert Brick, 61, was arrested and charged with unlawful imprisonment and possession of sexual material pertaining to a minor, Acciardo said. The FBI is involved and there may be additional charges, he added.
The girl was taken to a hospital and then reunited with her family who live in Asheville, North Carolina.
Trump says there will either be a deal with Iran or US will 'finish the job'
Storms kill at least eight in central China as Typhoon Bavi looms offshore
Landslide in China's Gansu province traps 16
Hamas dissolves Gaza government, Israel dismisses move as 'stunt'
Death toll from Venezuela quakes rises to 3,535 as thousands remain displaced
Russian strikes kill 26, exposing Ukraine air-defence shortages
Clashes escalate at Sri Lanka prison to leave 25 dead, many more injured
Six killed in India's Mumbai as rains wreak havoc, disrupt travel
