Go straight to the source. The deputies who made the arrest also arranged the jail. Here's how to work the call:

1. Dial the Sheriff's Department at 406-759-5171. For a question that can wait, email sheriff@libertycountymt.gov.
2. Give the full legal name, any nickname and the birth date.
3. Get the name of the jail that took them, plus its phone number.
4. Ask what the charges are and whether bail has been set.
5. Ask when the first court date is and which court has the case.
6. Write down any booking or ID number. It speeds up every later call.

Open the inmate lookup and try the last name first, then the full name. A match can help, but a missing name proves nothing. The person may be held under another county's records, or the entry may lag behind a fresh booking or a release.

If the person turns out to be in Fort Benton, the Chouteau County Sheriff's web page carries a dated list of people in its jail. The date at the top tells you how old it is. In every case, a phone call to the jail holding them is the last word.

A blank search is common. Likely reasons:

• Booked elsewhere. The person may be in a jail run by Hill, Chouteau, Toole or Pondera County.
• Still in booking. Records can trail the arrest by hours.
• Already out. Someone posted bail, or the judge accepted a signed promise.
• Moved on. A state, federal or immigration hold can send them out of the area.
• Spelling. Search again with a maiden name, a middle name or an alternate spelling.
• Age. Anyone under 18 goes to youth detention, not an adult jail.

When the screen comes up empty, the Sheriff's Department at 406-759-5171 can sort it out.

With so few local beds on record, these neighboring jails are the likely places to check. The Sheriff's Department can tell you which one, if any, has your person.

• Hill County Detention Center, Havre. The Hill County Sheriff/Coroner's Office is at 1452 2nd Street West, Havre, MT 59501. Call 406-265-2512 and ask for detention.
• Chouteau County Detention Center, 1215 Washington St, Fort Benton, MT 59442, 406-622-3660.
• Toole County jail, Shelby. The sheriff's mail goes to P.O. Box 550, Shelby, MT 59474, and the phone is 406-434-5585.
• Pondera County jail, run by the Pondera County Sheriff, 20 4th Avenue SW, Suite 109, Conrad, MT 59425, 406-271-4060.

Montana puts booking photos in the public part of its criminal records, next to bail records and each day's jail occupancy list (MCA 44-5-103). Public information of that kind can be shared freely (MCA 44-5-301).

• For a photo from an arrest here, ask the Sheriff's Department at 406-759-5171. If another county booked the person, ask that jail.
• Photos ICE takes are requested on its records request page.

For someone in a county jail, keep in touch with the jail that has them. Regular calls are the most reliable alert.

• VINE is a free notice service run for people the state Department of Corrections supervises, such as prisoners and parolees. Notices arrive as a call, a text or an email. Register through VINELink or at 800-456-3076, any hour. Registration is up to you.
• Victims in certain cases get a call from the jail when the accused makes bail. These include partner assault, strangling a partner, stalking and protection order violations (MCA 46-9-108).

A judge decides at the first hearing, often the Justice of the Peace in Chester, 406-759-5213. Cash bail still exists in Montana. Even so, the judge must pick the mildest conditions that will make sure the defendant returns.

• For lots of misdemeanors, the Supreme Court's suggested bond list is the starting point.
• That list gives felonies no figure, which leaves the amount to the judge.
• Partner and family member assault cases must go in front of a judge before any release.
• Someone held for another court's warrant can't be bailed out by a judge in this county.

Our bail page lays out amounts, payment and bail agents in more depth.

Ask the deputies or jail staff for each charge and its law number. A theft charge, say, cites 45-6-301. That number opens the actual law in the Montana Code Annotated, at no cost.

After a case is filed, the court record lists the formal charge. Look for misdemeanors on the limited jurisdiction portal. For felonies, use the District Court portal. In the end, the County Attorney decides what charges are finally filed. That office is at 110 E. Jefferson, Chester, MT 59522, 406-759-5174.

Yes. At the opening hearing, the judge covers the right to counsel and how a person short on money can request a public defender. Montana's public defenders cover felonies, youth cases and misdemeanors that could bring jail.

• Regional office: 109 2nd St. W., Havre, MT 59501, at the northwest entrance, 406-265-2199
• Apply at advopd.mt.gov. The form asks for proof of income, so have pay stubs and bank records nearby.

Some families hire their own attorney. The jail can explain how a lawyer arranges a private meeting.

Each jail writes its own visiting rules. Once the Sheriff's Department tells you where the person is, call that jail. Ask:

• which days and times visits happen, and whether you must book ahead
• whether visits are face to face, through glass or on video
• what ID adults need, and whether kids are allowed
• what clothes are off limits and what you must leave in the car

Our visitation page gives general tips that apply at most jails.

Money on the books buys snacks, soap, stamps and phone time. Deposit rules depend on the jail holding the person. Call that jail and ask about deposit options, fees and caps. Keep the full name and any booking number nearby.

Our guide to sending money lists the usual methods, and our commissary page shows what an account can buy. Cash in an envelope tends to go missing, so skip it.

The holding jail picks the phone and tablet company. Ask the staff how to get set up to receive calls, what each call costs and whether texts or video calls exist there. Ask whether calls are recorded, and how calls with a lawyer are handled.

Save the details of the case for conversations with the attorney. For more, read our jail calling guide, plus our inmate messaging page.

The address depends on the jail. Find out from the Sheriff's Department where the person is held. Then call that jail to confirm the mailing address, the name format and what may be mailed.

For example, Chouteau County's detention center lists a post office box for inmate letters: P.O. Box 459 in Fort Benton. Use the person's full legal name and put a return address on the envelope. Our mail page covers the rules most jails share.

What the person carried at booking stays at that jail until release. To collect things on their behalf, phone the jail. Find out if the person has to sign a form first. Bring photo ID.

Anything deputies kept from the arrest itself, such as a vehicle or evidence, is a question for the Sheriff's Department at 406-759-5171.

The jail holding the person is responsible for their care. Phone that jail without waiting. Give staff the medicine, how much and how often, and how to reach the prescribing doctor. Mention any allergy or chronic illness.

Worried about suicide or a mental health emergency? Tell the jail in those words. If a life is at risk, dial 911.

Deputies serve warrants countywide, and Chester has no police department of its own. For a warrant check, phone the Sheriff's Department at 406-759-5171. The Montana Department of Corrections marks escapees and probation or parole absconders it wants on the state offender search. The justice and town court portal lists open local cases, and the felony court portal lists open District Court ones. Before you act, get a lawyer's advice. The person can then surrender, or request a new date from the judge who signed the warrant. Justice and Town Court warrants run through 406-759-5213, and felony ones through the Clerk of District Court, 406-759-5615.

Call the court that has the charge:

• Justice Court and Chester Town Court, lower level of the courthouse, 111 1st St. East, Chester, MT 59522, 406-759-5213. Office hours are short and listed differently in two official places, so call before going.
• Clerk of District Court, 111 1st St. East, Chester, MT 59522, 406-759-5615. The district judge's chambers are in Havre.

The two state court portals sometimes show hearing dates, too. For what each hearing means, see our court page.

Federal cases from here are heard in Great Falls, in the Missouri River Federal Courthouse, 125 Central Avenue West, Suite 110, Great Falls, MT 59404, 406-727-1922.

1. Jail versus home before trial is decided at the very first federal hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. Pretrial custody is a U.S. Marshals Service job, and it often rents space in county jails. Ask the Marshals where at 406-200-6004.
3. Follow the case on PACER.
4. Once sentenced, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by name or register number.

An immigration detainer usually plays out this way:

1. ICE delivers Form I-247A. That paper asks the jail to keep the person.
2. Custody can last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. Montana officers must go along with it, unless the person offers credible proof of citizenship or lawful status (MCA 27-16-801).
3. Agents then transfer the person to a location of the Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
4. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator. It wants an A-number, or else an exact name plus the country of birth. If nothing turns up, ICE suggests a call to that Salt Lake City office.

A state felony sentence often means more weeks in a county jail while the Department of Corrections assesses the person. Even then, their name can appear in the state's search.

• The Montana offender search shows where a state prisoner is and their status. Type a name or DOC number.
• Planning a prison visit or a letter? Start with our Montana state prisons guide.
• Have a general question for the Department of Corrections? Its Helena office is at 406-444-3930.

Teens are held away from adults. The regional youth center in Great Falls, run by Cascade County, sits at 1600 26th Street S, Great Falls, MT 59405, 406-454-6930. That 24-bed center takes ages 10 to 18 from a region that includes this county. Families on its approved list can visit by Zoom. Sessions run Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8:00 to 10:30 a.m., plus Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.

Weekends and holidays aside, a detained teen has a court hearing inside 24 hours (MCA 41-5-332). Youth Court files stay off the public portals. To learn the next step, call juvenile probation at 406-265-5481, extension 243.

About 1,957 people live in the county, per the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 estimate. Roughly 844 of them live in Chester. These agencies may make an arrest:

• Sheriff's Department, 111.5 East Adams Ave., Chester, MT 59522, 406-759-5171. Deputies investigate crimes and patrol every county road. The town has no police department, so this is the agency for Chester as well as Joplin, Whitlash and Lothair.
• Montana Highway Patrol, 18 Trooper Drive, Boulder, MT 59632, round-the-clock dispatch 855-647-3777
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Whitlash Port of Entry, 10 Whitlash Road, Whitlash, MT 59545, at the Canadian border

An arrest by a federal officer usually leads to federal court in Great Falls rather than the courthouse in town.