Police in North College Hill, Ohio, arrested a woman who allegedly stole more than $1,600 worth of Girl Scout Cookies. WCPO-TV called it the tale of a real-life cookie monster.
Noel Hines, 31, allegedly took a delivery for a large order of Girl Scout cookies intended to be sold for a local troop on March 30, according to reports. But the funds were never turned in and the cookies also went missing.
Based on a price of around $4 per box, that’s equal to a total of about 400 boxes of Do-si-dos, Thin Mints and Savannah Smiles.
“We always try to work with a person,” Devon Beck, product sales manager for Girl Scouts of Western Ohio, told WCPO. “It’s never our goal to get to this point where somebody would be potentially arrested. So, it’s unfortunate when we get to this point.”
The Girl Scouts and the North College Hill Police Department reportedly attempted for six months to resolve the situation.
When no response was heard regarding whether Hines planned to pay for or return the cookies, charges were filed.
There’s no word on where the cookies went, but the ending was clear.
“That’s the way the cookie crumbles,” the North College Hill Police Department wrote on Facebook.
Hines was arrested Tuesday on a theft charge while at the North College Hill Mayors Court for unrelated charges according to reports. She was arraigned Wednesday and released on her own recognizance. She is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 28.
Money from cookie sales goes back into local Girl Scout Troops, providing them with experiences and activities designed to develop life skills and entrepreneurial and leadership skills, according to the Girl Scouts of Western Ohio’s website.
The website explains that the concept of cookie-selling began more than a century ago:
“It all started in 1917, when Girl Scouts in Muskogee, Oklahoma, did what Girl Scouts everywhere always do: they had a great idea, got together, and took action to make it a reality. The girls of Mistletoe Troop hit on the clever idea to fund their projects by selling cookies they made at home in their own kitchens. So simple — and so smart! Other troops took note, and the idea of Girl Scouts selling cookies took off.”
