Somewhere outside the county line. Deputies book adults into a nearby county's jail, and the Sheriff's Office makes that call. That choice isn't fixed, so never guess.

1. Phone the Sheriff's Office at 406-635-5738 during office hours.
2. Say the name exactly as it appears on a license, then the birthday.
3. Find out the jail, the charge and any hearing already on the calendar.
4. Jot it all down, then ring that jail yourself.

Walk-ins go to 217 West Park Street, Terry, MT 59349.

A general inmate lookup can steer you toward a jail and show whether a name appears there. Use it as a clue rather than proof. Lists often trail behind brand-new bookings, releases and transfers by hours or more.

If deputies say the person went to Baker or Miles City, the sheriff in that county keeps an inmate list on its own website. Compare the spelling and the charge there, and then phone the jail to be certain.

Three county jails sit within reach. Whether any of them has your loved one is something only the Sheriff's Office can say:

• Fallon County Detention Center, 10 W. Fallon Ave., Baker, MT 59313, 406-778-2879
• Custer County Detention Center, 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-874-3301
• Dawson County jail, 440 Colorado Boulevard, Glendive, MT 59330, 406-377-7600

Of the six bordering counties, Garfield, McCone and Wibaux showed zero jail beds in a 2022 state count.

Front-desk hours are weekdays only. Outside them, the Southeastern Montana Dispatch Center, 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301, takes calls for the county at 406-232-3411. Custer and Garfield counties share that center.

Life or safety at risk? Dial 911. Questions that can wait until morning, like property or visiting, should go to 406-635-5738 once the office opens.

An empty result usually has a plain explanation:

• Too fresh. Booking paperwork can run hours ahead of any list.
• Gone home. Someone may have posted bail, or a judge may have ordered release.
• Moved. Another county, a state program or the federal system may now have custody.
• Typed differently. Try a middle name, nickname, maiden name or hyphenated form.
• A minor. Teens aren't kept in adult jails for a stay.

Most of these clear up with one call to 406-635-5738.

For a county jail stay, keep checking with the jail that has the person. Ask staff about release timing, and glance at that jail's list every so often.

• VINE is a free alert service by voice, text or email. Its Montana coverage is adult felons under state corrections supervision. Sign up at VINELink or dial 800-456-3076 day or night. Nobody is enrolled for you.
• Alleged victims in four kinds of cases get notice when bail is posted (MCA 46-9-108). The four (MCA 45-5-206, 45-5-215, 45-5-220 and 45-5-626) cover hurting a partner, choking a partner, stalking, and defying a protection order.

Release is the judge's call, made at hearing number one. Misdemeanors often go to the Justice Court, 217 West Park Street, Terry, MT 59349, 406-635-4466, where hours vary, so phone first. Money bail still exists in Montana, but the judge has to start from the least restrictive terms that still secure a return to court.

• Misdemeanor amounts frequently begin with the Supreme Court's bond chart.
• The chart lists no dollars for felonies. A judge decides.
• No partner or family assault case skips the judge.
• A warrant issued somewhere else means local judges can't set bail on it (MCA 46-9-201).

Amounts, bondsmen and posting steps are on our bail page.

Ask the jail holding the person first. Charges usually carry a Montana code number, for example 45-6-301 for theft. Every statute can be read free at Montana Code Annotated.

Once filed, the full charge shows in the court record. Look in the lower courts portal for a misdemeanor, and in the felony court portal for anything bigger. Final charging decisions belong to the County Attorney, 217 West Park Street, Terry, MT 59349, 406-635-4529.

Expect the judge to raise the question of counsel at hearing one, including how to request a free lawyer. Montana's public defenders take three kinds of case: felonies, youth matters, and misdemeanors that could end in jail.

• Region 3 office in Glendive: 100 1/2 S. Merrill, Suite 3, Glendive, MT 59330, 406-987-6010
• The online application lives at advopd.mt.gov. Expect to upload pay stubs and bank statements.

Some families pay for a private attorney. Ask the host jail what a lawyer must do to set up a confidential visit.

Each host jail writes its own visiting rules: the days, the sign-up method, the ID it wants and the dress code. Call the jail before making the drive, and ask about:

• visiting days, hours and how to reserve a time
• accepted ID, and how old a visitor has to be
• video visits, if the jail has them
• items you can bring in, and where the rest gets stored

Not sure which jail? 406-635-5738 can tell you. For general advice, open our visiting guide.

Money on account covers things like snacks, soap and calls. Deposit options belong to the host jail, so phone it about methods, limits and fees. Keep the legal name and booking number, if you have one, at hand.

Read our money guide for the usual ways to deposit and our commissary guide for what can be bought.

Every jail runs its own phone setup. Ask the one holding your loved one how calls reach you, what each one costs, and whether tablets or messaging exist. Treat every call as recorded unless told otherwise. Conversations with a defense lawyer are protected and private.

Keep case details off the jail line. Our jail phone guide and inmate email guide have more.

Letters are delivered through the host jail, which supplies its own mailing address. Before writing, ask whether to add a booking number, and which extras, like photos or books, are allowed.

Address it with the full legal name and include your return address. Our mail guide covers the common rules.

Items taken at booking are held by that jail until the person walks out. If you are collecting things for them, phone the jail first and ask whether a signed release from the owner is required. Bring a photo ID. Deputies at 406-635-5738 can confirm which jail did the booking.

Phone the host jail without waiting. List each medication with its dose, and give the prescribing doctor's name and phone number. Worried about a mental health crisis? Use those exact words on the call.

• Emergencies: 911.
• Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center has a local clinic at 409 Bowen Street, Terry, MT 59349, 406-234-1687. Its crisis line is 406-234-1688.

Only the Sheriff's Office serves warrants here, in town and out, since Terry relies on deputies rather than its own police. To ask, phone 406-635-5738 on a weekday. Statewide, people the Department of Corrections is hunting, such as escapees and probation or parole absconders, carry that status on the DOC offender search. Pending court cases can be searched on the lower courts portal and the felony court portal. Get a lawyer's advice before you act. After that, request a new date from whichever court signed the warrant, or arrange a surrender with deputies. Call 406-635-4466 about a Justice Court warrant, or the felony clerk at 406-635-5575.

Ask the court that holds the file:

• Misdemeanors and town cases: Justice Court, 217 West Park Street, Terry, MT 59349, 406-635-4466
• Felonies: Clerk of District Court, 217 West Park Street, Terry, MT 59349, 406-635-5575. Law and Motion meets the first Thursday of every month at 2:00 p.m.

A hearing can run over video while the person stays put in jail. Name searches work on both state portals, and our court guide explains each stage.

Federal charges from here are filed in Billings, with the Billings Division of the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana. Address: 2601 2nd Avenue North, Suite 1200, Billings, MT 59101. Clerk: 406-247-7000.

1. The first hearing in federal court settles detention (18 U.S.C. 3142). The judge picks between release and a jail cell for the pretrial months.
2. Pretrial, federal defendants sit in Marshals custody, often in rented beds at a contract county jail. To learn which, call the Marshals at 406-200-6004.
3. PACER holds the case filings.
4. Once sentenced, the person can be traced on the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by name or register number.

An immigration detainer changes the release plan. Expect roughly this:

1. Federal immigration officers send Form I-247A.
2. The jail can then keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. Montana law makes officers honor that request, unless the person has credible papers proving citizenship or lawful status (MCA 27-16-801).
3. ICE collects the person. Montana falls within the area of the Salt Lake City Field Office, 2975 Decker Lake Drive, Suite 100, West Valley City, UT 84119, 801-736-1200.
4. Local check-ins happen at ICE's Billings office, 2900 4th Avenue, Suite 205, Billings, MT 59101, 406-247-4083.
5. Use the ICE Online Detainee Locator, entering the A-number, or the name together with the country of birth.

Following a state felony sentence, many people sit in county jail while the Department of Corrections completes an assessment. They can appear in the state database during that wait.

• The Montana offender search gives current location and status.
• Visiting hours and mail rules for every state prison appear in our Montana state prisons guide.
• DOC central office: 5 S Last Chance Gulch Street, Helena, MT 59620, 406-444-3930.

State law allows only short, tightly limited stays for a youth in an adult jail. Teen cases go to Youth Court, whose records are kept out of public searches. Probable cause must be reviewed for a detained youth (MCA 41-5-332) inside 24 hours, and weekend days and holidays don't count against that clock. As needed, the eastern region is also served by Billings' Yellowstone County Youth Services Center for youth detention.

Parents can ask the Sheriff's Office at 406-635-5738, or ask Youth Court through the clerk at 406-635-5575, about the youth's location and hearing.

This is a small place: 1,112 residents countywide and 574 in Terry, by Census Bureau estimates for July 1, 2025. These agencies work here:

• Prairie County Sheriff's Office, 217 West Park Street, Terry, MT 59349, 406-635-5738. A sheriff, an undersheriff and one deputy cover roughly 1,730 square miles. The office also polices the town under contract, guards the courtroom and leads search and rescue.
• Montana Highway Patrol, 18 Trooper Drive, Boulder, MT 59632, with round-the-clock dispatch at 855-647-3777.
• Southeastern Montana Dispatch Center, 1010 Main Street, Miles City, MT 59301, 406-232-3411. It sends deputies out on calls but does not arrest anyone.