(CNN) Missouri says it has lost track of more than 1,200 sex offenders, including hundreds of convicted rapists and child molesters. But the Show Me State is not alone in having this problem.

A new report from State Auditor Nicole Galloway reveals that Missouri can't account for about 8% of the 16,000 sex offenders required to register with law enforcement in the state. Those unaccounted for include about 800 sex offenders considered to be the most dangerous -- people convicted of rape, sodomy or child molestation in the first or second degree. Law enforcement officials in the state haven't heard from more than half of the unaccounted offenders in over a year.

"What my audit reveals is disturbing," Galloway said during a news conference in St. Louis on Monday. "Because local law enforcement officials don't know where these offenders are, that means citizens don't know where they are either."

Galloway places most of the blame on what she calls lax enforcement of the sex offender registration requirements by local police agencies. State law requires sex offenders to register their name, address and other info on a regular basis with the chief local enforcement official in their area, which is usually the sheriff. If an offender doesn't register, an arrest warrant is supposed to be issued, but often that doesn't happen.

"Statewide, arrest warrants have not been issued for over 91% of unaccounted for registered sex offenders," Galloway said. "There has not been an effort made to hold them accountable for once again violating the law."

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