The Sheriff's Office links to a JailTracker roster from its own web page. Follow this order:

1. Open the jail roster in your browser.
2. Enter the surname. Add a first name only when many people share the surname.
3. Nothing? Switch to a nickname, an earlier last name or a different spelling.
4. If an entry appears, read each line and copy what it lists.
5. Keep any booking or ID number. Staff can find a file quicker with one.

Still stuck? The jail division is staffed around the clock, so the desk answers day and night.

A blank screen can have simple causes, and it may not mean the person is free. Common causes:

• The booking is still in progress. Fingerprints and forms take time.
• A city police station has the person. Officers may keep someone at their own building before the jail takes them.
• They got out fast. Interim bond at the jail or a release order at arraignment can end custody quickly.
• Another county has them. A person arrested outside the county usually sits in that area's jail.
• Name trouble. Try other spellings and order of names.

Call 989-875-5211 and ask whether the jail has a booking. Another route is to ask the arresting agency where it took the person.

The Sheriff's page names one jail, the Gratiot County Jail, 226 East Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847, 989-875-5211. The county says it has room for 70 inmates and was largely rebuilt in 2001. Thirteen full-time employees and one administrator work there.

County pages do not explain which inmates sleep where, or whether other buildings are used. Ask the jail desk if you need to know about a transfer.

A person arrested in a neighboring county is normally kept in that county's jail. Look for it in the list of Michigan jails and phone it.

Call before you count on it. The roster is made for name searches, and the system decides what each entry displays. Phone 989-875-5211 and ask whether booking photos show.

In a formal opinion, the Michigan Attorney General treated suspect photos taken by police as records anyone may request. Still, an agency may say no if the release would be a plain and unfair intrusion on someone's privacy. Write out your request and mail it to the agency that made the arrest. Cite Michigan's FOIA, MCL 15.231 and the sections after it.

• Photos held by ICE are requested at ICE's records request page.
• Federal mugshots generally are not released. The U.S. Marshals Service is the one agency that may release a photo, for instance while it searches for a fugitive.

Michigan offers a free alert service named MI-VINE. It reports changes in custody, including a release, transfer or escape, at county jails and in state prisons. Some court events are covered too.

• Register at VINELink, or phone 800-770-7657.
• Search the person by name.
• Choose calls, texts or email.

Alerts can lag. When timing matters, ring the jail desk at 989-875-5211 too.

A judge or magistrate at the 65th District Court, 245 East Newark Street, Ithaca, MI 48847, 989-875-5240, normally sets bond at arraignment. State law wants a first appearance with no needless delay (MCL 764.13), and some of those hearings are held over a camera hookup with the jail.

• Interim bond. For certain misdemeanors, the deputy in charge of the jail can accept a small bond when no magistrate can be reached (MCL 780.581). Domestic violence arrests wait for a judge or magistrate.
• Arraignment. The usual order is a promise to come back to court signed by the person, or a bond with no cash due now. The court must give its reason before it orders money bail (MCR 6.106).
• Money bail. A family can leave 10 percent with the clerk (MCL 780.66) or hire a surety agent the court accepts. Ask how to pay before sending money.

Our bail guide goes deeper. The Michigan bail laws page lists the rules.

Phone the jail at 989-875-5211 and ask what is written on the booking. You will also hear the charge read at arraignment.

Once a case exists, look it up with MiCOURT Case Search. Not finding it? Call the 65th District Court at 989-875-5240. The clerk's counter is at 245 East Newark Street, Ithaca, MI 48847, open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Prosecuting Attorney picks the final charges from the courthouse at 214 East Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847.

At arraignment the judge brings up the matter of a lawyer. Someone who can't pay may be given one by the court (MCR 6.005). Having money for bond does not block that help.

The county's Indigent Defense office sits at 214 East Center Street, 4th floor, Ithaca, MI 48847. Phone 989-875-5368 or 989-875-5360 and leave a message if needed. Statewide standards come from the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission, 517-657-3066.

You may also pay for a private lawyer whenever you choose.

The jail sets visiting rules and may change them. Call 989-875-5211 before making the trip. Here is what to ask:

• Is the visit in person, on video, or either?
• What are the open days and times? Must you book?
• Who may come, and which ID is required?
• What may visitors wear, and where do phones and coats go?

The Sheriff's page carries a notice on inmate telephones and video visits. Our visiting guide shows what jails usually require.

The Sheriff's page sends families to Express Account for deposits, inmate accounts and bond payments. Confirm with the jail at 989-875-5211 first, since fees and limits may apply. Start only from the Sheriff's Office page, because look-alike sites exist.

Keep the full name and any ID number handy. Never mail cash. See our money guide for common deposit options and our commissary guide for what the funds buy.

The jail runs an inmate phone system, and the Sheriff's page links a notice about phones and video. Ring 989-875-5211 to learn how to set up calls, their cost, and whether texts or email are allowed.

Treat every jail call as recorded. Save talk about the case for your lawyer. Our jail phone guide and guide to email and texts give more tips.

The envelope should show the person's legal name, then Jail Division, 226 East Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847. Ask at 989-875-5211 if an ID number is required on the envelope and what you may include.

Write your own return address on the outside. Leave out cash, stamps and bulky items until the jail approves them. See our mail guide for typical rules.

The jail stores items taken at booking. To learn the release rules, call 989-875-5211. Ask whether the person must sign something, whether a friend may pick up the items, and which ID to bring. Visit the Sheriff's Office, 226 East Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847, only after you get answers.

Phone the jail desk at 989-875-5211 and say you are worried about the person's health. Share medicine names, doses and the doctor's name. Also encourage the person to file a medical request with jail staff.

For an emergency, dial 911. If someone may harm themselves, say so right away.

Start with the Sheriff's Office. Phone 989-875-5211 and ask, or stop by 226 East Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847. Michigan has no statewide warrant list, so ask the court clerk too. MiCOURT Case Search may turn up a case, but it does not list warrants. To clear one, talk with a lawyer, and then phone the court behind it. For the district bench, that is the 65th District Court, at 245 East Newark Street, Ithaca, MI 48847, 989-875-5240, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The judge sets dates at arraignment, and the court gives notice of later dates. Reach out to the court that holds the case:

• 65th District Court, 245 East Newark Street, Ithaca, MI 48847, 989-875-5240. It handles misdemeanors, arraignments, bond and the early stages of felonies.
• Circuit Court, inside the courthouse at 214 East Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847, 989-875-5300. Felonies move here once bound over.

In a felony, expect a conference about a week or two after arraignment, then a preliminary exam within another week (MCL 766.4). Our court guide explains each stage.

Federal court for this county is the Northern Division (Eastern District of Michigan), which meets at the U.S. Post Office Building, 1000 Washington Avenue, Bay City, MI 48708. The clerk's phone is 313-234-5000.

1. A federal judge handles release or detention at a detention hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Ask the U.S. Marshals Service where a federal detainee is held. The Marshals' office for the Eastern District is at the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, 231 West Lafayette Boulevard, Room 300, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-202-0135.
3. Follow the case on PACER.
4. Once a sentence is imposed, the federal Bureau of Prisons locator shows where the person went.

An immigration hold often goes like this:

1. The jail is handed a detainer from ICE, which uses Form I-247A.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the hold may run up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. ICE may take custody next. Its field office for Michigan and Ohio is at 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-771-6601.
4. Try the ICE Online Detainee Locator. It searches by entering a name together with a birth country, or the person's A-number.

After a prison sentence is imposed, county deputies take the person to a state intake site. Intake for men is the Reception and Guidance Center, found in Jackson. For women it is the reception center in Ypsilanti. Expect this to last roughly 30 to 45 days. No visits happen then, but letters and deposits still do.

• Look the person up on OTIS, the state's Offender Tracking Information System, with a name or a prisoner number.
• Each prison's visiting and mail rules are explained on our Michigan prison page.

Under a 2021 change, a 17-year-old counts as a juvenile in Michigan. Youths may not be held where adults can see or hear them. Their cases are handled by the Family Division, in the courthouse at 214 East Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847, 989-875-5300. Phone that line for the youth's location and hearing time.

A judge may waive jurisdiction over a 14-year-old or older, so the case is heard as an adult case (MCL 712A.4). Certain serious offenses by 14 to 17 year olds begin in Circuit Court instead (MCL 600.606). Find a lawyer quickly.

Any of these may have made it. If you can't tell which one, the jail desk at 989-875-5211 can help.

• Sheriff's Office, 226 East Center Street, Ithaca, MI 48847, also 877-472-8468. Deputies patrol places without a city department.
• St. Louis Police Department, 300 N. Mill St., St. Louis, MI 48880, 989-875-7505, open all day and night.
• Alma Police Department, contact details on the city's police page.
• Lakeview Post of the Michigan State Police, 10300 Howard City-Edmore Road, Lakeview, MI 48850, 989-352-8444.

Arrested in a village, a township or on a campus? Call the Sheriff's Office to find out which force covers it.