“It is a relief to hear that somebody was able to use the signal in a very dangerous situation, and that somebody knew how to respond,” Andrea Gunraj, the Canadian Women’s Foundation’s vice president of public engagement, said in an interview on Monday. The signal does not correspond to anything in American Sign Language, so it relies on general awareness to be effective. The Canadian Women’s Foundation advises that anyone who sees the signal should not necessarily immediately call the authorities, but should instead reach out safely, if possible, to the person who used it. It began as a Covid-era lifeline for women in abusive relationships, intended to be used on video calls as a signal that others should check in on them. Millions of people have seen videos featuring the signal on TikTok and YouTube, while organizations including the World Bank and the Women’s Funding Network have promoted it since April 2020. “This is probably the best thing I’ve seen come along in the 48 years I’ve been a patrol officer,” he said. He praised the girl for using the gesture, which he said would be a useful tool for victims if it were universally known. Brick thought she was simply waving at other cars and didn’t attempt to stop her, Officer Acciardo said. “I don’t think any of us realized what that was,” he said. When the deputies pulled the car over, the girl made the signal toward them, he said.
It was not clear how many people saw the girl’s hand signal, Officer Acciardo said. She said she began trying to get motorists’ attention as they traveled south from Ohio. He left the family after they learned that the girl was a minor and that she had been reported missing by her family. Brick through North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio, where he had family.
The girl told investigators that she had traveled with Mr. Brick are “acquaintances” but are not related, said Gilbert Acciardo, public affairs officer for the Laurel County Sheriff’s Office. Brick, who the sheriff’s office said had pornographic images of a child on his phone, also faces a child pornography charge. Sheriff’s deputies arrested the driver, James Herbert Brick, 61, of Cherokee, N.C., and charged him with unlawful imprisonment.
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