Two Girls, 12 and 14, Rob a Bank and Are on the Run

Police are still searching for two Ohio teens that robbed a bank Tuesday afternoon. The young robbers, ages 12 and 14, handed the bank teller a note demanding money and implied that they would harm the teller if demands were not met. The teller cooperated by handing over "bait money", which has serial numbers that can be traced if spent.

In spite of attempts by police to track down the bank robbers using helicopters and search dogs, the girls are still at large.

Obviously, this story is disturbing for a multitude of reasons. At the same time, it is my hope that when the girls are found, they are not harmed by police. Additionally, given their age, they should not be given long sentences and should receive the counseling they need in order to develop into healthy adults.

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TO GO WITH AFP STORY US-YOUTH-CRIME This handout videograb image courtesy of the Hamilton County Sheriff's department in Cincinnati, Ohio shows a suspect as she walks away. Police were searching January 7, 2010 for two adolescent girls suspected of robbing a bank in the northeastern state of Ohio.The girls, one believed to be between the ages of 14 and 16 and the other a couple of years younger, pulled off the unarmed heist January 5, 2010 at a bank in a suburb of Cincinnati. Police said the juvenile suspects, wearing hooded sweatshirts that partly concealed their faces, passed a note to a teller demanding money and left with an unspecified amount of cash, in a robbery recorded by the bank's video camera. While teenage bank robbers are unusual, robberies by young females are rarer still, officials said. AFP PHOTO/HAMILTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT/HANDOUT/RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images)

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HAMILTON COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPT.

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People react by the scene of a crime where three teenagers were killed in Tijuana, Mexico, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010. Prosecutors say the two boys and a girl were shot to death in a hail of bullets directed at their vehicle outside a school. (AP Photo)

Protesters have hung up a banner which reads "In Rememberance of Oury Jalloh" during a demonstration in the eastern German city of Dessau on January 7, 2010. Germany's federal appeals court ordered a re-trial of a policeman over the burning to death in custody of an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone in 2005. Ouri Jallow, also known as Oury Jalloh, died in January 2005 in Dessau police station south-west of Berlin after the mattress on the bed that he had been shackled to in a cell caught fire. AFP PHOTO DDP / JENS SCHLUETER GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read JENS SCHLUETER/AFP/Getty Images)

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(FILES) A file photo taken on October 13, 2003 shows a Union of Congolese Patriots (UPC) child soldier walking through the market in Iga Barriere in the Ituri region. The trial of former Congolese militia leader Thomas Lubanga will resume on January 7, 2010, with two expert witnesses expected to be the first to testify. Lubanga, 48, has been charged with war crimes for using children under the age of 15 to fight for his militia during the five-year DR Congo civil war, which ended in 2003. AFP PHOTO/ SIMON MAINA (Photo credit should read SIMON MAINA/AFP/Getty Images)

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Protesters hold a banner which reads "No one will be forgoten, Break the silence" as they take part in a demonstration in the eastern German city of Dessau on January 7, 2010. Germany's federal appeals court ordered a re-trial of a policeman over the burning to death in custody of an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone in 2005. Ouri Jallow, also known as Oury Jalloh, died in January 2005 in Dessau police station south-west of Berlin after the mattress on the bed that he had been shackled to in a cell caught fire. AFP PHOTO DDP / JENS SCHLUETER GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read JENS SCHLUETER/AFP/Getty Images)

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Mamadou Saliou Diallo, brother of Oury Jalloh, speaks with tv reporters at a demonstration in the eastern German city of Dessau on January 7, 2010. Germany's federal appeals court ordered a re-trial of a policeman over the burning to death in custody of an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone in 2005. Ouri Jallow, also known as Oury Jalloh, died in January 2005 in Dessau police station south-west of Berlin after the mattress on the bed that he had been shackled to in a cell caught fire. AFP PHOTO DDP / JENS SCHLUETER GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read JENS SCHLUETER/AFP/Getty Images)

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Protesters hold a placard which reads "Oury Jalloh, that was murder" as they take part in a demonstration in the eastern German city of Dessau on January 7, 2010. Germany's federal appeals court ordered a re-trial of a policeman over the burning to death in custody of an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone in 2005. Ouri Jallow, also known as Oury Jalloh, died in January 2005 in Dessau police station south-west of Berlin after the mattress on the bed that he had been shackled to in a cell caught fire. AFP PHOTO DDP / JENS SCHLUETER GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read JENS SCHLUETER/AFP/Getty Images)

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Protesters hold a banner which reads "Racist Violence" as they take part in a demonstration in the eastern German city of Dessau on January 7, 2010. Germany's federal appeals court ordered a re-trial of a policeman over the burning to death in custody of an asylum seeker from Sierra Leone in 2005. Ouri Jallow, also known as Oury Jalloh, died in January 2005 in Dessau police station south-west of Berlin after the mattress on the bed that he had been shackled to in a cell caught fire. AFP PHOTO DDP / JENS SCHLUETER GERMANY OUT (Photo credit should read JENS SCHLUETER/AFP/Getty Images)

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When I was a track coach for kids years ago, I had to learn to manage many different youth personalities. Some of the kids were happy, some were sad. Some were polite, some were rude. Nine times out of ten, the riddle behind the child's seemingly erratic behavior was always solved when I met the parents. Bottom line: Good parenting is the key to raising good children, and although these girls probably don't have model parents, I don't consider these young women to be beyond saving.