Wichita ? A convicted sex offender and one of the state’s most sought-after missing parolees turned himself in after his case was publicized.

Timothy Smith, 36, walked into a parole office Monday in Wichita and said he wanted to “get things taken care of,” Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Steve Nelson said.

“He said he’d seen himself profiled in the news and decided that it was time to stop running,” Nelson said.

On Tuesday, Atty. Gen. Phill Kline saw Smith’s decision as another success from his office’s aggressive efforts to find missing parolees. Kline publicized that effort last week, saying his office was searching for violent and sex offenders, particularly those who were convicted of victimizing children.

“We’re having success simply by heightening scrutiny,” Kline said. “I think we will certainly see people reporting their whereabouts.”

Last week, Kline named Smith and 31 other missing parolees as high-priority cases because of their crimes. Later, Smith and a dozen other offenders recently were pictured on the front page of the Wichita Eagle newspaper.