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MONROE CITY, MO -- We have a follow-up now to a story we brought you earlier this month about sex offenders living too close to some Tri-State schools.

We logged on to some Websites that are supposed to keep track of offenders and where they live. But when we checked with local police, we discovered a problem. We looked more closely at those Websites to find out if they're accurate and how they can help you keep your kids safe.

Sgt. Brent Bernhardt with the Missouri Highway Patrol said, "The info on the Missouri Highway Patrol Web site is accurate. That information though is only as accurate as the information that is provided to us."

Here's what prompted the question. When we looked up sex offenders living in Monroe City on familywatchdog.us, we found two offenders listed as living too close to a school. We cross-referenced that information with the Missouri Highway Patrol's sex offender database. Both sites had the same information about the two offenders. We measured it off and confirmed both addresses were too close to area schools...but the offenders don't live there.

Sgt. Bernhardt said, "We checked the other day to find out one was incarcerated, another was noncompliant with reporting his address and was determined to live out-of-state."

So the two sex offenders we tracked left Monroe City about a year ago. Why the inconsistency? Both offenders are non-compliant.

Sgt. Bernhardt said, "In many circumstances some of the sex offenders do not meet the mandates, do not report changes of address to sheriff or the particular county they reside in. In a lot of cases these addresses on the website contain the last known address."

Even though these sites are updated every day, they don't always list an offender's actual address because the police don't have it. It's a good idea to find out who's living in your neighborhood. But if an offender is non-compliant, he could be living near your home, your child's school or daycare without you--or anyone else-- even knowing it.

By the way, sex offenders who don't comply with their community's laws about checking in with police and registering their addresses face felony charges, which can mean stricter penalties and more prison time.

Another important law in Missouri: certain sex offenders are not allowed to come within 500 feet of a school.   Sex offenders convicted of endangering the welfare of a child, of crimes related to pornography or sexual exploitation of a minor aren't allowed to enter or come within 500 feet of a school building. That means sex offenders who are parents cannot pick up their children or go to school functions without special permission from the superintendent or school board.

Illinois has a similar rule; sex offenders are not allowed on the property of a school.

As we've been investigating, we've discovered one Tri-State community that has so many schools and daycares, most offenders can't live in the city limits without violating the thousand foot rule.

The state of Missouri requires that all sex offenders live at least 1,000 feet away from schools and licensed daycares.  We've been investigating how many offenders are violating that rule around the Tri-States.  We discovered that Monroe City has so many schools and daycares that most offenders can't live in the city limits without violating the 1,000-foot rule.

Once the 1,000- foot range is put into motion, there are only a few places where a sex offender moving to Monroe City can live.

Chief of Police Rick Stone says his department takes a proactive approach when a sex offender tries to move to town.

Chief Stone said, "We monitor the Highway Patrol's Web site and watchdog Web site and also the courts are good about letting us know if a sex offender is coming to our area. We try to make contact with them as soon as we find out they're moving to town.  Advise them of the law and show offenders on the map where they can and cannot live."

Chief Stone says right now Monroe City only has one sex offender living inside the city limits. He's allowed to live there legally because he lived there before the daycare near him opened for business.

Chief Stone encourages parents with concerns to contact their police department.