The Montezuma County Detention Center is this county's jail, found at 730 East Driscoll Street, Cortez, CO 81321. The jail desk answers at 970-564-4995.

Open VINELink (Montezuma County) to start. New arrests at the Cortez jail can take some time to show; try again later. VINELink sends notices when the person is released.

Our search found no official warrant lookup posted by the sheriff. Phone the sheriff's office at 970-564-4986 and ask whether a warrant is active.

The state docket search shows set hearings by name. If you want to turn yourself in, call a lawyer first.

• The amount for an arrest in Cortez is set by a county or district judge, not by jail staff.
• Time limit: Colorado gives judges about 48 hours after jail arrival to set bond in most cases.
• Personal recognizance: your relative signs a promise in writing to return to court.
• Cash bond: you pay the full amount.
• Bail agent: someone pays a fee so the agent posts the bond; that fee is gone for good. The law caps it at 15% of the bond or $50, whichever is higher.
• Property bonds: the judge wants equity worth 1.5 times the bail; out-of-state land doesn't count.
• The court often adds rules: curfews, drug tests or no-contact orders.
• Holds: a warrant from a different agency may still keep someone locked up even with bond paid.
• Keep every court hearing — a missed date can lead to new arrest orders and forfeiture of the money.
• Where to start: phone the Cortez jail at 970-564-4995 for the current bond.

For everything else, open the Montezuma County bail page.

The court first sees your loved one at a first appearance. State charges go to the Montezuma Combined Courts, 865 North Park Street, Suite 100, Cortez. Phone the court at 970-565-1111 for dates.

Usually, yes, when a judge finds they cannot afford one. The public defender office is at 970-247-9284.

Visits are booked ahead of time. Phone 970-564-4995 ahead of your trip; rules shift. Read visiting rules and online visits.

Phone calls go out from the Cortez jail only; you can't call in. Prepaid accounts cover calls and messages. See: calls, messages, tablets.

Money in their account buys commissary items. Ways to deposit vary. See money deposits and commissary rules.

Mark the letter with their full name and booking number if you have it. Leave off glitter, stickers or tape. See the mail rules page first.

If the arrested person is a minor, charges go before a juvenile judge, though serious charges can differ. Detained youth often head from Montezuma to the Grand Mesa Youth Services Center, a state youth center. Questions about a minor? Dial 970-564-4986 for details.

Call 970-564-4995 to tell jail medical staff about medicines, pregnancy or a suicide risk. Keep the prescription label handy to share.

Any federal case out of Montezuma County doesn't remain in the county court system. Hearings take place inside the federal courtroom inside Durango's La Plata County Courthouse, 1060 East 2nd Avenue, Suite 150, Durango, CO 81301 — the clerk's office can be reached at 970-385-9564. Soon after booking comes a first hearing before a U.S. magistrate judge for the first hearing date.

There is no fixed bail table. Instead, the magistrate judge holds a detention review hearing to figure out if the arrested person is let out while waiting for trial and on what terms. Pending trial, lots of federal prisoners stay in a local county jail contracted by the U.S. Marshals. To ask their location, contact the U.S. Marshals at 970-317-6117. After a judge orders prison, the BOP (federal Bureau of Prisons) handles the case. Find them on the BOP inmate locator.

1. During booking, fingerprints go to federal systems shared with ICE.

2. Should ICE want custody, it sends a detainer request via Form I-247A to the Montezuma jail.

3. That form requests up to 48 additional hours after the normal release time. The 48 hours run straight through, with holidays and weekends counted.

Step four: Colorado's statute, C.R.S. 24-76.6-102, states plainly that local jails can't hold a person longer just because ICE made a request. So Montezuma County must release your family member on time unless another legal reason applies.

5. ICE officers can arrive right at release and pick the person up. If not, the one held is released.

Find ICE detainees through the ICE locator; enter the A-number with birth country.

One ICE site is the Denver Contract Detention Facility, 3130 North Oakland Street, Aurora, CO 80010. The info line: 303-361-6612, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; no incoming calls to detainees.

ICE's Denver field office is at 12445 East Caley Avenue, Centennial, CO 80111; phone 720-873-2899.

A prison sentence begins after a wait in the local jail for state pickup. At reception, the state screens new arrivals on risk level, health and mental health.

Once classified, they're moved to a prison suited to that level. The CDOC search displays where they are; see Colorado prisons for more.

There are no Montezuma mugshots online because Montezuma has no public roster. Use VINELink (Montezuma County) to check custody; it has no photos. Members of the media looking for a mugshot not shown publicly might reach the Montezuma County sheriff's office on 970-564-4986.

A photo taken by ICE has to be asked for at ICE's FOIA request site; then ICE must say yes.

Federal mugshots are never given to the general public and reporters. The sole exception: the U.S. Marshals Service, which records federal mugshots, is allowed to put out one for a fugitive if that helps make the arrest or warn the public, as well as after there is an immediate public safety threat.

• County jail: Montezuma County Detention Center, 730 East Driscoll Street, Cortez, CO 81321, 970-564-4995
• Finding an ICE detainee: locator.ice.gov
• When bond is set: most often in 48 hours or less after booking
• Public defender: 970-247-9284
• Federal cases: the federal courtroom inside Durango's La Plata County Courthouse — 970-385-9564
• Release alerts: VINELink (free)
• Court: Montezuma Combined Courts, 865 North Park Street, Suite 100, Cortez, 970-565-1111

• Cortez Police: 970-565-8441
• Montezuma County Sheriff's Office: 970-564-4986

Areas outside city limits depend on the sheriff. Emergencies: 911.