According to the U.S. Marshals Service, more deputies have been dispatched to Louisiana and Mississippi in order to help local authorities find hundreds of sex offenders that fled the area following Hurricane Katrina.

The Marshals Service dispatched almost 200 deputies to the region to help find the missing sex offenders and update local registries. There are roughly 1,300 registered sex offenders in New Orleans and 3,500 in Mississippi. Officers believe that about 197 of those offenders are unaccounted for - and they could potentially pose a threat to the public.

While the Marshals Service has not received any notice of registered sex offenders committing crimes in the shelters, the Service also cites that shelter managers have refused to give out information about those in the shelters, citing a shelter privacy policy.

The New Orleans Police Department says that it is going to continue to ask for help form the Marshals Service while finding these offenders.