Rey Bonilla Darren BonillaGood news alert! The kidnapped brothers reported missing in North Miami this week have been found! Little Darren Bonilla, 5, and Rey Bonilla, 3, are back home with their mom, safe and sound. As for the woman who allegedly took them? She's been found too. Cops talked to her. Then they released her.

OK, so maybe not all the news is good.

Cops in North Miami say Jennifer Krasner (who goes by the name Gloria) showed up at Charmen Bonilla's home Monday morning and told a babysitter that she was supposed to take the boys. It started off a massive manhunt for Krasner and the kids, which ended Tuesday. That's when cops say they found the children in a car with "Gloria" -- a full day after the boys had disappeared.

Rey and Darren were described as well-cared for by their mom, who, by the way, doesn't seem all that interested in pressing charges. She told a TV station:

I don't like to do harm to anybody. My kids are back safe in one piece and that's all I'm grateful for.

Fair enough, but after a manhunt that cost the city's cops serious time and resources, what mom thinks doesn't matter -- or, at least, it shouldn't.

In cases like this where the ending is happy, we can rejoice in seeing the kidnapped kids safe and sound, but we still need to consider what the search entailed. How many other crimes happened because cops were (justifiably, I should add) finding two kids instead of patrolling the streets? How much taxpayer money was spent on the search that could be allocated elsewhere?

Although Krasner was released with no charges, the investigation into the alleged kidnapping is still open. Let's hope this means that some sort of punishment is forthcoming, if only to send a message to would-be criminals that a happy ending does not make up for the high costs of their antics.

Should there be a punishment in this case? What should it be?

 

Image via National Center for Missing & Exploited Children