WASHINGTON (AP) — Governors in states that accepted Katrina evacuees are being urged to locate about 2,000 registered sex offenders who fled the Gulf region during the hurricane's mayhem and may have vanished from legally required tracking.

"When sex offenders know they're being watched, when they know they're being monitored, they are less likely to offend again," said Wade Horn, assistant secretary for children and families at the Department of Health and Human Services. "When they no longer believe they are being monitored or watched, they can be tempted to offend again."

The Administration for Children and Families estimated that about 30 states are affected. In November, agency officials matched the names of sex offender registries in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama with the names of evacuees who applied for disaster assistance.

You know, this would be less of a problem if we kept high-risk sex offenders behind bars where they belong instead of releasing them back into our neighborhoods.

There's no listing of which states these pedophiles are likely to be in, but if your community took in Katrina refugees you may want to be on the look out.