No jail building stands in Montmorency, so Alpena keeps the list you need. The steps:

1. Open the current inmate list.
2. Fill in the name as the form asks. If nothing appears, try another spelling.
3. Open a matching entry and copy down whatever details it gives.
4. Phone the jail to confirm the charges, bond and release plans, because staff hold the newest facts.

Should the link fail, visit the Alpena County corrections page and pick the current inmates option. The jail line is 989-354-9830.

An empty result is not proof the person is out. Think through these possibilities:

• Booking in progress. The ride to Alpena plus the paperwork may take several hours.
• Still with the officers. The deputy or trooper who made the arrest may not have finished.
• Back on the street. An interim bond, or a judge at the first hearing, may have set the person loose.
• Different county. If the arrest happened elsewhere, that county's jail has the person.
• Spelling. Test nicknames, middle names and maiden names.

Ring the jail at 989-354-9830 and ask for Corrections. Still no luck? The Sheriff's Office in Atlanta answers at 989-785-4238.

The Sheriff's website states that inmates from this county live at the Alpena County Correctional Facility. That is the Alpena County Jail, 4900 M32 W, Alpena, MI 49707, in the city of Alpena. Call 989-354-9830. The lobby is staffed Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The Sheriff's Office sits in Atlanta at 11045 M-32 West, Atlanta, MI 49709, phone 989-785-4238. Deputies work out of that building, yet inmates are not kept there. Ask that office about any other holding place.

A person picked up in another county goes to that county's jail. JE's Michigan jail directory helps you find it.Federal cases are covered in the federal answer below.

The jail describes the list as a way to look up current inmates. It does not say if mugshots are shown, so open the list and check an entry yourself.

Michigan's Attorney General has opined that photos of suspects taken by officers may be requested like other public records. An agency is allowed to say no when giving one out would seriously invade a person's privacy. Send a written request to the agency behind the arrest, citing the state's FOIA statute. For a county deputy, call 989-785-4238. For a state trooper, call the State Police Alpena post at 989-354-4101.

• To get an ICE photo, use the ICE records page and ask.
• Federal photos are generally not given out, but the Marshals Service may release one, as with a fugitive.

Sign up for MI-VINE, a free state notice system. It sends word when someone is let out, sent elsewhere or gets away, for county jail inmates and state prisoners alike, and it can also pass along court events. Call 800-770-7657 at any hour or register at VINELink.

Do not rely on alerts alone. A person can walk out soon after bond is set, so a call to 989-354-9830 is the safest check.

Once someone is arrested, a judge or magistrate has to see them without unnecessary delay (MCL 764.13). The hearing is often held over video. The 88th District Court, 12265 M-32, Atlanta, MI 49709, tells you when at 989-785-8035.

• Interim bond. For certain minor offenses, a jail deputy in charge may accept a small bond if no magistrate can be reached. Arrests for domestic violence wait for a judge instead.
• The arraignment. Most people go home on a written promise to return, often with rules like staying away from the victim. Cash bail comes into play when the judge decides lesser steps will fail. A few grave charges can be held with no bail.
• Money bail. You may put down ten percent with the court clerk or use an approved surety agent. Since May 1, 2026, a court may keep that ten percent only after a guilty finding on an offense the rule names.

The Alpena Sheriff's Office takes bond payments at any hour at the jail address given earlier. Ask about fees first. An approved agent list is on the Circuit Court resources page. The state insurance office, 877-999-6442, takes questions about agents. Find more on our bail page plus our overview of state bail rules.

Call the jail first at 989-354-9830. Once a case is opened, the court file lists the charge. Look the person up in MiCOURT for the 88th District Court. A brand-new case may not appear yet, in which case the Criminal and Traffic Division can help at 989-785-8038.

That court is at 12265 M-32, Atlanta, MI 49709 and works Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Charges can change as a felony case moves up to Circuit Court.

The judge must ask the person at the first hearing whether a lawyer is wanted, and then decide whether the court will pay for one. Being able to afford bond does not close the door.

Defense for people who qualify here comes from the Northeast Michigan Regional Defender Office. Its Montmorency location is 12418 State Street, Atlanta, MI 49709, phone 989-354-2856, website nemichdefenders.org. For questions about how the system works, the Michigan Indigent Defense Commission is at 517-657-3066. Paying for a private attorney is also possible.

The Alpena jail sets the rules, and they can shift, so call 989-354-9830 before you go. Our visiting guide has general advice.

• In the lobby. You sit at a kiosk in the Sheriff's Office for a free 25-minute video visit. Hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., closed on holidays. Each inmate gets one lobby visit per week.
• From your couch. Home video visits run 6:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., every day. They cost 20 cents a minute in 30-minute blocks, and each inmate can have one daily.
• Reserving. Book online or at a lobby kiosk. First come, first served.
• Dress and ID. Bring a state or government photo ID. Children under 17 must be with an adult. Hats, tank tops, short skirts and tight shorts are out. Expect a pat-down. The jail may cancel a visit with no warning.

Three routes are listed. Use the kiosk in the Alpena lobby with cash or a card, visit JailATM online, or mail a money order for the inmate. Fees apply. The jail's pages cite $3 for cash at the kiosk and $3 or ten percent for a card. Ask the desk for your exact total before paying.

• The weekly commissary spending cap is $150.
• After booking, the jail may take funds from the account for booking and warrant fees, and for housing, medical and dental costs.

Ring 989-354-9830 with questions. Our money guide and commissary guide add detail.

The jail's pages leave out the phone details. Call 989-354-9830, press 4 for Corrections, and ask how calls reach you, what they cost, and whether tablets or text messages are in use. Also ask whether calls are recorded.

Treat every jail call as overheard. Keep case details for the lawyer. Home video visits, covered in the visiting answer, are another way to see the person. See how jail phone service works and how inmate email and texting works for background.

Format the envelope like so:

Inmate's full name
Alpena County Sheriff's Office
4900 M32 W
Alpena, MI 49707

No inmate number is needed, says the jail. Only the U.S. Postal Service may carry it. Staff open and inspect each one.

• A missing return address means the letter is tossed.
• Use black or blue ink, pencil, or print it out.
• No glitter, stickers, crayon, colored pencil or perfume.
• Extra stamps, envelopes and blank sheets are thrown away.
• Letters to a crime victim are barred, and mail from other inmates is refused.

For photos, books or cards, ask at 989-354-9830. See also our mail guide.

Its pages do not say how a person's booking items are handled, so phone 989-354-9830 during weekday lobby hours, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Learn if a release form must be signed and what ID to show at the desk. The jail is at 4900 M32 W, Alpena, MI 49707.

Phone the jail at 989-354-9830 and press 7 to reach the nurse. Give the name, the health problem, any medicine with its dose, and the doctor if you know one. Also ask the nurse how care is requested from inside.

Know that the jail repays medical costs from the inmate's funds. For an emergency, 911 is the number to dial.

Phone the Montmorency Sheriff's Office, 11045 M-32 West, Atlanta, MI 49709, 989-785-4238 and ask whether one exists under the person's name. Give the full name and birth date. Court files can be searched in MiCOURT, and the clerk's staff can answer too. To clear one, see a lawyer first. Then phone the court that signed the warrant to plan your surrender. Find that court, the 88th District Court, at 12265 M-32, Atlanta, MI 49709, or call 989-785-8035.

Ask whichever court has the case. The 88th District Court, 12265 M-32, Atlanta, MI 49709, hears most first steps; call 989-785-8035. Its calendar page also holds a form for asking to join by video.

• District Court covers misdemeanors, the arraignment, bond, and the early part of a felony.
• Circuit Court takes a felony after the early stage. The 26th Circuit Court in Alpena can be reached at 989-354-9573.

Probation questions go to 989-785-8041. Our court guide lays out the whole path.

Federal prosecutors file these cases at the federal courthouse for this region, home to the Michigan Eastern District's northern branch, at 1000 Washington Avenue, Bay City, MI 48708. The clerk answers at 313-234-5000.

1. At the detention hearing under 18 U.S.C. 3142, a federal judge decides whether the person is held.
2. Once a judge orders detention, the person is in Marshals custody. The U.S. Marshals Service works from the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse, 231 West Lafayette Boulevard, Room 300, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-202-0135.
3. After sentencing, the person appears in the federal prison inmate locator.

What often happens, step by step:

1. First, ICE sends the jail a detainer. The paperwork is called Form I-247A.
2. The rule is 8 CFR 287.7(d): the jail may hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. ICE may then collect them.
3. The ICE Online Detainee Locator asks for the full name and a birth country.
4. If the search shows nothing, phone the Detroit office of ICE's Enforcement and Removal unit, 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-771-6601. Its area covers Michigan along with Ohio.

When a prison term is ordered, deputies take male inmates to Jackson, to the state's Reception and Guidance Center, and female inmates to the intake center in Ypsilanti. Expect about a month and a half of intake. No visits happen in that window, yet letters and deposits go through.

Use the state's Offender Tracking Information System to find a name. JE's state prison guide covers visits and mail for each facility.

A 2021 change in Michigan law made anyone below age 18 a juvenile. Circuit Court's Family Division takes such cases. The law keeps a minor apart from adult inmates in both sight and sound.

Teens who are 14 and up can be moved into adult court by a judge. Certain grave offenses by older teens begin in Circuit Court from day one. To find out where the minor is and when the next hearing falls, call the 88th District Court at 989-785-8035 and ask about the Family Division or Probate Court. The 26th Circuit Court in Alpena is at 989-354-9573.

The Sheriff's Office serves the whole county.

• Montmorency County Sheriff's Office, 11045 M-32 West, Atlanta, MI 49709, 989-785-4238
• Michigan State Police, Alpena Post, 3283 W. Washington Ave., Alpena, MI 49707, 989-354-4101
• Village of Hillman office, 989-742-4751. Ask if the village has its own officers.

The county's eight townships are Albert, Avery, Briley, Hillman, Loud, Montmorency, Rust and Vienna. Their offices are not police agencies, but a clerk can direct you to the right one.