The jail has 48 beds and is often full, so expect a few pages of names. Here is the quickest way through:

1. Go to the roster and pick Current Inmates, or 48 Hour Release if you think they got out.
2. The newest bookings show first, ten per page. Page forward, or use your browser's find tool for the last name.
3. Tap View Profile. The profile shows age, gender, race, home address, the arresting agency, booking date, charges and bond.
4. Copy down the booking number. Staff use it to pull the right file fast, and you will need it for deposits.

Can't find them? Call the 24-hour line, 406-266-3441.

A missing name usually has a simple cause:

• Still being booked. It takes a while after arrival before a name is added.
• Already gone. Look at the 48 Hour Release list. They may have bonded out or been freed by a judge.
• Taken elsewhere. They may be in another county's jail, a state facility or federal custody.
• Booked under another spelling. Search by first name too, or by an old married name or a common nickname.
• Not yet 18. Youths follow separate rules and are kept away from adults.

Staff at 406-266-3441 can tell you for sure. Office business is done weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., but the phone is answered at all hours.

Most charges on the roster appear as a Montana law number with a short description. A few entries carry a label instead:

• Federal Detainer. The person is held for a federal agency. These holds are common here.
• Probation Violation. The person is held over a probation or parole matter. The arresting agency may read "Probation and Parole."
• Another county's name. The roster has shown holds for Meagher County and Lewis and Clark County.

The Sheriff's Office says most people in its jail are held for other agencies, the state Department of Corrections among them. If a label confuses you, ask the jail what it means for release.

The county keeps its own adult prisoners in Townsend. If the arrest was near a county line or on a highway, check these jails next:

• Lewis and Clark County Detention Center in Helena, jail line 406-447-8232. The Sheriff's Office is at 406 Fuller Ave., Helena, MT 59601.
• Jefferson County Detention Center, 110 S Washington St., Boulder, MT 59632, 406-225-4075
• Gallatin County Detention Center, 605 S. 16th Ave, Bozeman, MT 59715, 406-582-2130

Meagher County's Sheriff's Office takes calls at 406-547-3397. In early 2025, that county reported housing its inmates in Townsend, so a Meagher arrest may still show up on this roster.

Each roster profile has a space for a photo. When that space shows "Image Not Available," call the Sheriff's Office at 406-266-3441 and ask how to request the booking photo.

In Montana, a jail's daily roster, its bail records and the photos taken at booking all count as public criminal justice information (MCA 44-5-103). The law sets no limits on passing that kind of record along (MCA 44-5-301). For a photo held by immigration officers, file a request on ICE's records request site.

The simplest check is the 48 Hour Release list on the roster. Look at it daily, or phone 406-266-3441.

• VINE. This free service calls, texts or emails when the status of an adult felon under state corrections changes, for example a prison inmate or a parolee. Sign up on VINELink or by calling 800-456-3076. Nobody is signed up for you.
• Victims. Some charges come with a duty to warn. These are partner assault, strangling, stalking and breaking a protection order. If the accused is bailed out, the jail must tell the alleged victim fast (MCA 46-9-108).
• Victim advocate. The county's advocate can also share case and court notices. Call 406-266-9237.

Look first at the bond column on the roster. The figure there comes from a judge, who rules on release at the first hearing. That hearing is most often in Justice Court, 515 Broadway St., Townsend, MT 59644, clerk 406-266-9231.

• For many misdemeanors, the state's recommended bond schedule suggests an amount.
• Felonies have no schedule amount, so the judge chooses one.
• Anyone booked for partner or family assault stays put until the judge has seen them.
• A warrant from a different state or county blocks a local judge from granting bail.

See our bail page for amounts, ways to pay and bail agents.

The roster lists each charge with its statute, such as 45-6-301 for theft. Read any of them on the free Montana Code Annotated site.

When prosecutors file the case, the court record shows the formal charge. Misdemeanors are on the portal for justice and city courts. Felonies are on the District Court portal. The County Attorney's Office makes the final charging call. Its address is 515 Broadway St., Townsend, MT 59644, and its number is 406-266-9226.

Judges have to tell every new defendant about the right to counsel and how to ask for one at no cost. In Montana, public defenders take felony cases, youth cases and any misdemeanor that might end in a jail term.

• Closest office: 139 N. Last Chance Gulch, Helena, MT 59601, 406-444-0104
• Apply through the public defender portal. Have pay stubs and bank statements handy.

A family may hire a private lawyer instead.

In-person visits run by housing pod. Ask staff which pod your loved one is in:

• A and B pods: Monday and Thursday, 3:00 to 9:00 p.m., and Saturday, 2:00 to 8:00 p.m.
• C, D and E pods: Tuesday and Friday, 3:00 to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday, 2:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Bring a government photo ID, such as a driver's license, state ID card or passport. Work badges and photocopies are turned away. The control officer has the final say on clothing. Leave at home tank tops, swimwear, see-through or revealing clothes, short shorts or skirts, hats, anything that looks like jail clothing, and shirts with rude or charged messages. Visitors who are drunk, rude or unruly are sent away and may be banned. More tips are in our visiting guide.

The Sheriff's Office lists NCIC as its provider for video chats and messages. Ask the company or the jail about costs before you set anything up.

To learn how phone calls work, call the jail at 406-266-3441. Ask whether calls and messages are recorded. It is wise to save talk about the case for the lawyer. Our jail calls guide and inmate messaging guide have more.

Commissary deposits are made online through Inmate Canteen, the company the Sheriff's Office names. Keep the booking number from the roster close by when you set up a deposit. Commissary money lets them buy items from the jail store.

For other ways to deposit, or for limits, call 406-266-3441. Never put cash in an envelope. Our money guide and commissary guide explain the basics.

Call the jail at 406-266-3441 before you write. Ask for the exact mailing address, whether to add the booking number, and what may be sent, such as photos, books or magazines.

Address the envelope to the inmate by the name on the roster, and write where you live in the top left corner. Plain paper is the safest choice. Our mail guide explains the usual jail rules.

The front lobby window takes two things only: eyeglasses and medication. Medicine needs approval from jail staff before you drop it off, so call first at 406-266-3441.

Items taken at booking are normally stored until release. To pick something up for your loved one, call on a weekday between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Ask if they must sign a release form, and bring a photo ID to 519 Broadway St., Townsend, MT 59644.

The Sheriff's Office is responsible for the safety and care of everyone it holds. If your loved one is ill, injured or needs a prescription, call 406-266-3441 right away. Give the drug name, the dose and the doctor's name and number.

Suicide prevention is one of the services the Sheriff's Office lists. If you fear your loved one may hurt themselves, say so plainly the moment staff answer. For any emergency, call 911.

Warrant questions start with the Sheriff's warrants page, which points people to the District, Justice or City court at 406-266-9200. The Sheriff also runs a Most Wanted page, and you accept a short notice to view it. Townsend is policed by the county, so no separate city list is needed. For people who ran from state supervision, the Montana offender search shows absconder and escape status. Pending cases can be checked on the court portals. Anyone with a warrant should call a lawyer, then surrender at 519 Broadway St., Townsend, MT 59644, or ask the court for a new date.

Ask the clerk of whichever court has the file:

• Justice Court and Townsend City Court, 515 Broadway St., Townsend, MT 59644, clerk 406-266-9231
• Clerk of District Court, for felonies and Youth Court, 515 Broadway St., Townsend, MT 59644, 406-266-9213

Both offices keep weekday hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the Justice Court breaks for lunch. A name search on the two state portals may also turn up the date. Our court guide walks through every stage.

Federal arrests in this part of Montana are handled by the court's Helena Division, at the Paul G. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, 901 Front Street, Helena, MT 59626, 406-441-1355.

1. Home or custody until trial gets settled at the first federal court date (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Before trial, the U.S. Marshals Service is in charge of them. The Townsend roster often lists people on a federal detainer. Call the Marshals at 406-200-6004 to ask where someone is held.
3. Follow the case on PACER.
4. After a prison sentence, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator with a name or register number.

Steps in a typical ICE case:

1. Immigration officers file Form I-247A, known as a detainer, at the jail.
2. Staff may keep the person for up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. A Montana statute requires officers to carry out the request, except for a person with believable papers showing citizenship or legal status (MCA 27-16-801).
3. Agents from ICE's Salt Lake City Field Office then take custody. The office is at 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by A-number. A name search also needs the birth country. When the search draws a blank, ICE tells families to phone that field office.

People sentenced to the state on a felony often wait in the Townsend jail for a Department of Corrections bed. The Sheriff's Office lists those waits among the reasons it holds people. Once the state has them on its books, they can show up on its search while still in the county jail.

• Type a name or state ID number into the Montana offender search to see location and status.
• Our Montana state prisons guide covers visiting and mail at each prison.
• General questions go to the Department of Corrections at 406-444-3930.

Teens are not kept with adults. Montana allows a youth in an adult jail only for a few hours of booking. In a rural county, a youth waiting on a hearing may stay as long as 24 hours (weekends and holidays are skipped) in a space walled off from adults (MCA 41-5-349). A judge has to hold that hearing inside the same 24-hour window (MCA 41-5-332). Youth Court hears these cases, and the files are kept off the public websites. To learn where a youth was taken, call the Sheriff's Office at 406-266-3441 or the Clerk of District Court at 406-266-9213.

The roster profile names the arresting agency. These are the main ones in a county of about 8,493 people, with 2,272 in Townsend (Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2025):

• Broadwater County Sheriff's Office, 519 Broadway St., Townsend, MT 59644, 406-266-3441. Deputies patrol the whole county and the city, which contracts with the Sheriff for policing. Dispatch for 911 sits inside the jail.
• Montana Highway Patrol, 18 Trooper Drive, Boulder, MT 59632, 24-hour dispatch 855-647-3777
• Montana Probation and Parole, which shows up as the arresting agency for some people on state supervision
• Townsend Ranger District, Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, 415 S. Front, Townsend, MT 59644, 406-266-3425
• Bureau of Reclamation, Canyon Ferry Field Office, which manages the reservoir, 7700 Canyon Ferry Road, Helena, MT 59602, 406-475-3921
• Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks game wardens, whom county dispatch helps as needed