Updated June 08, 2015.

The fact that many missing kids recently in the news were taken by repeat sex offenders has many parents worried about who might be living in their neighborhoods and where their children go to school and play.

Fortunately, although it is not a perfect system, each state maintains a website where you can find the location of registered sex offenders.

For example, in Texas, you could:

• search the sex offender database by simply entering your zip code and city and you will get a list of sex offenders who live in the area. Be sure to enter each zip code in your city though.

• use a mapping application to search an entire county and see detailed information about where sex offenders live, including their name, address, photo, offense data, and sex offender's risk level.

Other states have similar systems, although they don't all include the same data or cover all sex offenders (some only list moderate or high risk offenders):

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Arizona
• Arkansas
• California
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Florida
• Georgia
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Illinois
• Indiana
• Iowa
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Mississippi
• Missouri
• Montana
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• New Hampshire
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Utah
• Vermont
• Virginia
• Washington
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin
• Wyoming

You may also want to check your local police department, city, or county website to see if they have their own lists of registered sex offenders, such as this one for Washington, DC.