The jail keeps its own online list. A phone or a computer will do. Follow these steps:

1. Open the CCNO inmate search.
2. Put the last name in the box. A common last name? Add the first name too.
3. If nothing appears, try a shorter or longer form of the first name, or a maiden name.
4. Click the person's row and copy the inmate number. Letters and calls to the jail go faster with it.
5. Also glance at the booking report, a second spot where a new arrest may show up.

Ohio has no one state list of county jail inmates. Each jail runs its own, so this is the list for anyone held in Stryker. If you get stuck, call 419-428-3800 and ask for booking.

An empty result does not always mean bad news. Look at these common causes:

• Booking is not done. Staff take prints, photos and details first, and the online list may catch up hours later.
• A police lockup. Some arrested people sit in a station cell first and ride to Stryker later.
• A ticket and a date. For minor offenses, officers often send a person home with a court notice.
• A bond or a signature. Bond may have been paid by a relative, or a judge released the person on a written promise.
• A transfer. The person might be sitting in another county's jail by now, or in the custody of a state or federal agency.
• A minor. A person under 18 is handled by juvenile authorities.

Names get spelled many ways, so test a few. Then call CCNO at 419-428-3800 and ask the staff to check if the person is on site. If the answer is no, call the arresting agency; our last question has the numbers.

For adults, the answer is nearly always one place:

• CCNO, the regional jail. The Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio is at 3151 County Road 2425, Stryker, OH 43557, phone 419-428-3800. Stryker lies in Williams County, not here. The center takes adults from the five member counties named above.
• Programs inside CCNO. Work release, Public Works and HITT all run in the same center. Ask the staff which one a person is in and where they sleep.
• The courthouse holding area. Deputies from the Sheriff's Office, 113 Biede Avenue, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-784-1155, drive people from Stryker to court and watch them in a holding area until the hearing is over.

Our research did not turn up separate men's, women's or security-level jails here. Ask the center whether the housing unit matters for your visit. Someone arrested in a member county nearby may also land in CCNO, so use the same list for them.

A mugshot is a booking photo, snapped as the jail processes a new arrival. To ask if a photo can be shared, call the jail at 419-428-3800 or the Sheriff's Office, 113 Biede Avenue, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-784-1155. The arresting police agency is another office to ask. Under Ohio's records law, R.C. 149.43, many government records can be requested by the public.

Take care with sites that collect or sell mugshots. Any site that posts booking photos or arrest news is barred from seeking or taking a fee to delete them. Under R.C. 2927.22, a violation is a first-degree misdemeanor, and whoever is harmed may sue for $10,000 or more.

• Booking photos from a federal arrest are kept from the public. The U.S. Marshals Service is the one office that may release a picture, for instance during a manhunt.
• ICE will consider a request for its photos if you file one at its records request site.

Yes, if you sign up. VINE, run for Ohioans by the Attorney General's office, costs nothing. Messages by phone, text or email report when someone is freed, moved, runs away or dies while held. The service reaches county jails, state prisons and state youth centers.

• Register at VINELink or phone 800-770-0192, which answers all day and night.
• Look for the person by name and pick the facility to follow.
• Give VINE the number or email address for alerts.

Alerts may arrive late. Before you drive to Stryker for a pickup, confirm the release with the jail at 419-428-3800.

Under R.C. 2937.011, an Ohio judge picks the mildest conditions that still secure the person's return and keep the public safe. The judge's money options are an unsecured bond, cash equal to a tenth of the bond, the whole amount in cash, land or stock pledged as security, or a bond from a licensed agent. When a tenth is deposited, the court returns 90 percent once the case ends, provided the person followed every condition.

Every court holds a bail schedule for misdemeanors, which means a person may go free before the first hearing by paying the listed sum. Ask the Municipal Court, 665 Perry Street, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-5756, which payment types it takes. Ohio requires Municipal and County Courts to accept credit cards for bail. Only a judge or a magistrate can set felony bail. The Clerk of Courts, 221 Clinton Street, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-1936, can tell you how to pay.

Anyone held must see a judge about bail by the end of court day two after being arrested. Only a few places can take bail: the courthouse, a hall run by a township or municipality, or a jail operated by a county or city (R.C. 2937.23). Ask which one applies before you leave home. Only an agent licensed through the state insurance department can write a surety bond. The Ohio Department of Insurance consumer line is 800-686-1526. More help is on our bail page, and our Ohio bail-law overview covers the state rules.

Ask the jail first. Phone 419-428-3800 with the name and birth date written down, and ask which charge is on the booking. A person can be held on more than one, so ask about each.

Later, the court file holds the full detail. The office to call depends on the level of the case:

• Misdemeanors and traffic cases: the clerk of the Municipal Court, 665 Perry Street, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-5756.
• Felonies sent up by a grand jury: the Clerk of Courts, 221 Clinton Street, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-1936.
• Who picks the final charges: the Prosecuting Attorney, 500 Court Street, Suite C, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-2402.

For any other court's number, the state Supreme Court publishes a directory of Ohio trial courts.

There are two paths. A family can hire a private lawyer, who may visit the jail and speak at the first hearing. Or the person can request a defender at public expense.

1. Tell the judge, once the first hearing starts, that hiring a lawyer is beyond the family's means.
2. Fill out the money form the court hands you.
3. The court decides who qualifies and names the lawyer.

Each Ohio county picks how it supplies these lawyers. Here, the court that hears the case arranges one, and the Clerk of Courts, 221 Clinton Street, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-1936, can explain the steps. The Ohio Public Defender oversees the state's system and answers in Columbus at 614-466-5394. If a person is still held with no lawyer, a further bail hearing comes two court days after that, and under R.C. 2937.011 the court then assigns counsel to anyone unable to pay.

Family and friends meet inmates through a video monitor, never face to face. Here is how it works:

• At the jail: the lobby holds visits from 12:00 to 2:30 p.m. and again from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
• From your home: the center uses a service named gettingout.com. It charges a fee, paid by credit or debit card, and allows one video visit each week.
• ID: carry a photo ID every time.

Phone 419-428-3800 to confirm which days apply, since schedules shift. For extra tips on dress and on bringing children, see our visiting guide.

Funds placed on an inmate's account buy commissary items such as food and soap. They never pay a bond. To learn the current ways to add money, call the center at 419-428-3800 and ask for commissary. Keep the full name and inmate number from the search at hand.

Never mail cash, money orders, cashier's checks or personal checks to the jail, because it will not take them. Two helpers: the money guide shows deposit methods, and for shopping options see the commissary guide.

Inmate calls normally come in to you, so you cannot dial a housing unit. Ask what incoming calls cost, how to fund them, and if the jail offers texting or tablets. Phone 419-428-3800 and ask who handles inmate phones.

Video visits from home run through gettingout.com, as the visiting answer explains. Calls from jail are usually recorded, so save the details of the charge for your talks with the lawyer. Two more guides help: phones and email and texts.

Mail does not go to the building in Stryker. Use the post office box below:

Corrections Center of Northwest Ohio, OH
Inmate Name, Inmate Number
P.O. Box 247
Phoenix, MD 21131

• Letters need the sender's address in the corner of the envelope; those without may come back.
• Skip photos in the mail. The jail points families to gettingout.com for pictures.
• Never enclose cash, money orders, cashier's checks or personal checks.

The inmate number is on the inmate search. For standard mail rules, our mail guide goes deeper.

Clothes and items taken in at booking remain in jail storage until release. The center accepts property from family during the receptionist's hours, but not for a person already sentenced to prison. Phone 419-428-3800 to ask what may be dropped off, which hours apply, and if a signed release is needed. Bring a photo ID to 3151 County Road 2425, Stryker, OH 43557.

Plan for the day of release, too. A person freed late at night may have only what was packed at booking, so ask the jail how pickup works.

Call the jail at 419-428-3800 and ask for medical. Provide the inmate number and the person's full name, then explain the problem in plain words. Name any medicine, the dose, and your loved one's doctor and the doctor's number.

Remind the person to send in a written medical request while inside. Call 911 for any medical emergency. When you worry about a mental health crisis or thoughts of self-harm, say that first on the call.

Deputies from the Sheriff's Office, 113 Biede Avenue, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-784-1155, serve warrants in the county. City officers do so in town; the city police line is 419-784-5050. Ask either office if one is out for a name.

To check the courts, hand the clerk the name and the birthday at the Municipal Court, 665 Perry Street, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-5756, or at the Clerk of Courts, 419-782-1936. A lawyer should hear about any warrant first; once you have advice, work through the court that issued it.

Whichever court has the case sets its dates. Call the right clerk with the name and birth date:

• Municipal Court: 665 Perry Street, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-5756, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. It handles traffic and misdemeanor cases for the whole county, along with first appearances and preliminary hearings on felonies.
• Common Pleas, through the Clerk of Courts: 221 Clinton Street, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-1936, open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Felony trials take place here after a grand jury indictment.

Someone held in Stryker may join early hearings by video. Crim.R. 5 sets the clock for a felony preliminary hearing: ten days for a jailed defendant and fifteen for one who is free, though an indictment can come first. The village of Hicksville also has a mayor's court for local tickets. Our court page follows each stage of a case.

Cases that arise in this part of the state are filed in the Northern District of Ohio, Toledo division. The federal courthouse is at 1716 Spielbusch Avenue, Toledo, OH 43604, 419-213-5500.

1. A judge makes the first call on custody at the first federal appearance, choosing jail or release until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. While the case is pending, the U.S. Marshals Service holds the person. Its Toledo office is in the same building, Suite 313A, 419-376-3094.
3. The Federal Public Defender's Toledo office, 617 Adams Street, Toledo, OH 43604, 419-259-7370, may represent a person who cannot pay.
4. After a sentence, search the BOP inmate locator for where the person is held.

ICE steps, in order:

1. Form I-247A is the document ICE uses to ask the jail to hold someone. People call it a detainer.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the hold can last up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. ICE then transfers the person to a holding site that it runs or chooses.
4. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. Give the name and birth country. If an A-number is on hand, it works too.

If the locator turns up nothing, phone the ICE Detroit Field Office, which covers Ohio: 985 Michigan Avenue, Suite 207, Detroit, MI 48226, 313-771-6601. For word on any ICE agreement with the jail or the Sheriff's Office, phone the Sheriff's Office at 113 Biede Avenue, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-784-1155.

Once a judge orders prison, the person is sent first to an Ohio intake site for screening, and a prison is chosen afterward. Before that move, the person may sit in the Stryker jail for a time. Call 419-428-3800 to learn whether the transfer has happened.

• Try the offender search run by Ohio's prison agency, the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, at its ODRC offender search page. That tool lists inmates of state prisons and people on state supervision.
• For prison visits, mail and money rules, read our guide to Ohio state prisons.

Adult lockups do not take people under 18, so a child will not be in the Stryker jail. Their case goes before the Juvenile Court, a division of Common Pleas, at 221 Clinton Street, 3rd Floor, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-782-4181. Phone it to find the child's location and the hearing time.

Four counties (this one, Fulton, Henry and Williams) send children to a 32-bed regional center east of Stryker. A detention hearing, held within 72 hours, lets a judge look at the hold; if the next court day comes sooner, the hearing is due then (Juvenile Rule 7 and R.C. 2151.314). A child who is not kept in detention goes back to a parent's care.

The court papers or the jail will name the arresting agency. Offices working here are:

• City police department, non-emergency line 419-784-5050. It covers the city itself.
• Sheriff's Office, 113 Biede Avenue, Defiance, OH 43512, 419-784-1155. Deputies cover the areas outside the city, including the townships.
• Hicksville, Sherwood and Ney. To learn who patrols each village, ask the Sheriff's Office.
• Ohio State Highway Patrol. The post that serves the county has a page in the patrol's local post list.

Ask the agency for its report number, the charge and the booking time. Then check the jail list or call CCNO, 3151 County Road 2425, Stryker, OH 43557.