Authorities then slapped networking site Facebook, which owns Instagram, with a warrant ordering that they provide records needed to identify the responsible account owners and photo distributors.
One concerned mother alerted police to an account she found containing photos of teen girls in Rowan County.
In almost all the photos, it appears the teen girls are snapping the pictures themselves, maybe passing them on to someone they trust.
An investigation could happen in the future.
Charges for those found responsible could include pornography and sexual exploitation of a minor, police said.
During this life changing time I am especially aware and in awe of the power of women.
In her first-ever Instagram post, Halle Berry shared a shot of her while peering through a bamboo forest.
Sources tell the website that an unidentified male student was expecting the images, and he took screenshots of the illicit photos to create an Instagram gallery.