Start with the Munising jail's current-inmate roster, which the county links from its Sheriff's Office page and which accepts a first or last name or a Munising booking or inmate ID. If a name you expect is missing, the 24-hour desk can confirm a booking by phone, and VINELink sends custody-change alerts by text or email.

The Sheriff's Office, 906-387-4444, runs a 52-bed lockup on Varnum Street, a few blocks from Lake Superior. Its meals come by way of a partnership with the state's Alger Correctional Facility, which is a separate MDOC prison and not a place where county arrestees are booked. Under a housing agreement the jail also holds Luce County inmates, about 18 at a time, so Luce arrests can appear on this roster.

Deputies at the Varnum Street desk photograph, fingerprint and search each new arrival and record any bond already ordered. Someone arrested late on a Friday may sit until the 93rd District Court opens on Monday unless an interim bond applies.

Alger Sheriff's deputies carry most county warrants, and a dispatcher at the jail desk, 906-387-4444, runs a name and birthdate at any hour; city police handle their own.

The 93rd District Court case search shows charges and hearing dates, but an open warrant stays out of view there.

People settle a warrant by walking into the Varnum Street jail to surrender with a lawyer, or by asking a clerk to reset the missed hearing. The 93rd District Court clerk at 101 Court Street, Munising takes misdemeanor calls at 906-387-3879; felony files sit with the Circuit Court clerk, 906-387-7053, and the 11th Circuit Court office is 906-387-7074.

The 93rd District Court sets bond after arraignment and accepts it at its counter during office hours. Jail staff can say whether a bond has been ordered. Our bail page walks through ten-percent and surety options.

Everything runs out of the courthouse at 101 Court Street, Munising: the 93rd District Court for misdemeanors, arraignments and preliminary exams, and the 11th Circuit Court for felony trials. See our court process guide.

Munising's two trial courts appear on MiCOURT: 93rd District and 11th Circuit. Charging decisions belong to the Prosecuting Attorney, 906-387-2117.

Envelopes should carry the inmate's full name, then Alger County Jail, 101 E. Varnum Street, Munising, MI 49862, and put your own return address in the corner. Phone the jail before mailing photos or books, since staff screen every envelope. Our mail guide has the general rules.

Visits at the Munising jail are on-site video sessions that are scheduled ahead through the jail's provider; confirm hours with the desk before you drive. Our visitation guide explains the usual steps.

Beyond letters and video sessions, Munising families usually open a prepaid account so the person can make outgoing jail calls; our phone guide covers setup. Short electronic messages go through the jail's tablet provider, which our messaging guide explains, and money for snacks and hygiene items can be added as described in our money guide and commissary page.

Booking photos taken on Varnum Street are Sheriff's Office records, so a written records request goes to that office. Photos taken in immigration custody come only by request to ICE's FOIA office. Federal mugshots stay inside the agencies that took them, apart from the occasional U.S. Marshals wanted notice.

The county's Public Defender office, 906-387-7016, takes appointed cases once the 93rd District judge finds a person eligible at arraignment.

Upper Peninsula federal cases go to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Northern Division, 202 W. Washington Street, Marquette, MI 49855, 906-226-2021. The U.S. Marshals office there, 906-226-8812, keeps custody of federal defendants, and the BOP inmate locator lists people once sentenced.

Yes. A Form I-247A detainer lets ICE request that Munising deputies delay a release by no more than two days, weekends aside (8 CFR 287.7(d)) so officers can arrange pickup. Track a transfer with the ICE detainee locator; the regional office is the ICE Detroit Field Office, 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-771-6601.

Felony terms longer than a county sentence go to the Michigan Department of Corrections. MDOC OTIS tracks each prisoner; our Michigan prisons directory covers the facilities.

Juveniles are kept out of the Munising jail; their cases go to the Probate Court's family division, 906-387-2080, which decides on any placement.

Releases happen at the Varnum Street lobby once paperwork clears, which can take an hour or more after bond is accepted or a judge orders release. Ask the desk for a time before driving, since winter roads around Munising can make a late pickup hard, and bring identification if you are collecting property for the person.

For a report written by a deputy, put a written request to the Sheriff's Office records desk; Munising Police Department reports come from that department directly.

Misdemeanor probation is run by the 93rd District Court, 906-387-3879; felony probation and parole fall to Michigan Department of Corrections agents attached to the 11th Circuit, 906-387-7074. Missing a probation meeting can lead a judge to issue a bench warrant.

The Alger County Clerk, 906-387-7067, works out of the Court Street building and keeps vital records alongside Circuit Court files, which the Circuit Court clerk line, 906-387-7053, can explain.

An arrest outside Alger, across the line in a bordering county, goes to that county's own lockup, and each one answers custody questions for its own inmates.

• Marquette County Jail, 236 W. Baraga Avenue, Marquette, MI 49855, 906-225-8435
• Schoolcraft County Jail, 300 Main Street, Manistique, MI 49854, 906-341-2122
• Delta County Correctional Facility, 2800 College Avenue, Escanaba, MI 49829, 906-786-3633

• Alger County Sheriff's Office, 101 E. Varnum Street, Munising, MI 49862, 906-387-4444 (24 hours).
• Munising Police Department, 906-387-2275.

Call 911 in an emergency.