VINE reports custody status for Oklahoma jails that take part in it. Steps that usually work:

1. Open the custody search in any web browser.
2. Choose to look up a person, not a case.
3. Type the last name, then the first. Skip middle names on the first try.
4. Compare age and facility on each result, and pick the match held in Medford.
5. Jot down any ID number listed. That number speeds things up when you phone.

If the results leave you guessing, jail staff take calls at 580-395-2356. Office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

A blank result usually means one of these:

• Booking not finished. Fingerprints and paperwork happen first, and the record goes in after.
• Released. Bond might be paid, or a judge may have freed them on a promise to return.
• Moved elsewhere. Custody may have passed to another county, to DOC or to federal officers.
• Name trouble. Search a nickname, maiden name or both last names.
• A minor. Youths go to juvenile detention, so the adult jail list skips them.

Staff at 580-395-2356 can tell you whether the person came in, left or was moved.

Adults arrested here are normally held in Medford. Arrests near the edges of the county, or on a neighbor's warrant, can land a person in one of these:

• Kay County Detention Facility (east), 1101 W Dry Road, Newkirk, OK 74647, 580-362-3393
• Garfield County Detention Center (south), 1020 South 10th Street, Enid, OK 73701, 580-548-2429
• Alfalfa County Jail (west), 300 S. Grand Ave, Suite 1, Cherokee, OK 73728, 580-596-3269

The north side borders Kansas. If the arrest happened over the line, the Sheriff's Office at 580-395-2356 can point you to the right Kansas sheriff.

VINE is built to report where someone is and their custody status. For mugshot questions, the Sheriff's Office takes calls at 580-395-2356.

Oklahoma's Open Records Act (51 O.S. § 24A.8) opens certain arrest records held by law enforcement. Those include a physical description, why the arrest was made and booking information. That statute names those records only, with no word about photos.

• ICE handles photo requests through its FOIA request portal.
• Federal agencies rarely release mugshots. A Marshals manhunt for a fugitive is the main exception.

The Attorney General's victim services staff operate OK VINE. It sends free notices when a person is transferred, released, escapes, is caught or dies. Anyone can register.

1. Visit VINELink's Oklahoma page, or phone 877-654-8463.
2. Look up the person and tap the button to register.
3. Choose a phone call, a text, an email or the app.

DOC gives each new prisoner a fresh ID number on arrival. Register a second time under that number so the notices don't stop.

In District Court, the judge fixes each bond. Local criminal dockets run through the Associate District Judge's office at the courthouse, 580-395-2258. Oklahoma's constitution lets judges refuse bail only for a few serious kinds of charges, and only after a hearing (Okla. Const. art. II § 8).

• Release can come through cash, a bondsman, a property bond or a written promise to appear.
• Anyone booked on a repeat DUI must see a judge before going home (HB 1222).
• Under HB 1991 (2025), posting the bond for another Oklahoma agency's hold can clear that hold.

Amounts, payment and bondsman rules are on our bail page.

Arrest facts, like why the person was arrested and which officer made the arrest, are public records (51 O.S. § 24A.8). The Sheriff's Office can read you the booking charge at 580-395-2356.

The District Attorney decides the final charges and may add, change or drop counts. Its local office is at 112 E. Guthrie St., Medford, OK 73759, 580-395-2156.

After the DA files, the case shows on ODCR and OSCN, the two free record sites the Court Clerk links. Each count is listed on the docket.

A detainee who can't pay for a lawyer can get the application from jail staff. The Court Clerk files the completed form, and after looking at income, the judge decides on appointing counsel.

• Lawyers for those who qualify come from the Enid office of the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System, 205 W Maple Ave, Suite 410, Enid, OK 73701, 580-977-2040.
• The application carries a $40 fee payable to the Court Fund. Someone short on money may ask the judge for more time to pay it.
• Letters to and from a lawyer are legal mail. Jail staff may open them only while the person looks on (OAC 310:670-5-9).

Families can hire their own lawyer as well.

Call 580-395-2356 before the trip. Ask about visit days and times, whether you must schedule ahead, what ID works and whether video visits exist.

A jail may trim group size or visit minutes, but state rules say security has to be the reason (OAC 310:670-5-9). Any child visiting needs a parent or guardian along.

Lock phones and bags in your car and wear plain clothes. More tips are in our visiting guide.

Funds on an inmate's account pay for hygiene items, food from the commissary and phone time. Before sending anything, call 580-395-2356. Ask which deposit methods the jail takes, whether there is a cap, and who a money order goes to.

Never put cash in an envelope. Common deposit methods appear in our deposit guide, and the commissary guide covers typical items.

Under OAC 310:670-5-1, each new arrival gets a minimum of two phone calls after booking, local or collect. Families should expect that call to come in collect, sometimes hours later.

The jail decides how phone accounts, tablets and messages work after that. Staff at 580-395-2356 can explain what exists and the prices. Details about the case are best kept for the defense attorney.

Our phone guide and messaging guide go deeper.

The street address of the jail is 219 N. First St., Medford, OK 73759. Phone 580-395-2356 first. Ask how to address the envelope, which number belongs beside the name, and what may be sent.

• The state's rules set no ceiling on letters sent or received.
• Regular letters may be opened to search for contraband.
• Letters from a judge, a court or a lawyer get opened only while the person watches, per OAC 310:670-5-9. Legal letters headed out are not opened at all.

Use the inmate's full legal name, with your address on the back flap or top left. For general mail rules, see our mail guide.

Booking staff write down each item a new arrival brings in and store it. Under OAC 310:670-5-1, staff on release day check identity, compare items with the inventory, and get a signed receipt.

For a pickup while they remain in custody, phone 580-395-2356 on a weekday first. Sometimes staff need the inmate's okay on paper. Bring photo ID to 219 N. First St., Medford, OK 73759.

A health screening happens during booking. Jail staff also have to tell each person the way to request care. Once a request is in writing, a licensed provider must see the person within 48 hours, or sooner in an emergency, under OAC 310:670-5-8. Separately, Oklahoma law says jails owe people adequate medical care (74 O.S. § 192).

Tell the jail about any condition at 580-395-2356. List every medication, the dose and the doctor's name. For a life-threatening problem, call 911.

County warrants are handled by deputies, reachable at 580-395-2356. Medford officers serve warrants in town through City Hall, 580-395-2823. Open cases appear on ODCR and OSCN. Official lists to check: escape notices under DOC's Orange Alert program, the Attorney General's top 10 wanted fugitives, and the top 15 federal fugitives. A lawyer can help plan a voluntary surrender before the issuing judge. Ask the Court Clerk about bond or rescheduling too: 112 E. Guthrie St., Room 202, Medford, OK 73759, 580-395-2828.

Three offices set dates in the county:

• District Court Clerk, 112 E. Guthrie St., Room 202, Medford, OK 73759, 580-395-2828, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekdays.
• Associate District Judge's office, 112 E. Guthrie St., Room 201, Medford, OK 73759, 580-395-2258.
• Municipal court for the county seat, which meets in the City Hall Community Room, 615 N. Front St., Medford, OK 73759, 580-395-2823, on the second Tuesday of every odd-numbered month at 3:00 p.m.

A name search on ODCR or OSCN also lists hearing dates. Every step of a case is on our court page.

A federal charge from this area goes to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, 200 NW 4th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-609-5000.

1. Near the first appearance, a federal magistrate holds a detention hearing on pretrial release (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The U.S. Marshals hold federal pretrial detainees. Their Oklahoma City office can say where the person is held: 200 Northwest 4th Street, Room 2022, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-231-4206.
3. A lot of federal detainees are housed at the Federal Transfer Center, 7410 S. MacArthur Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73169, 405-682-4075.
4. After sentencing, use the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Immigration holds in this jail generally go in this order:

1. ICE sends the jail an immigration detainer on Form I-247A.
2. Per 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. ICE officers pick them up. ICE's Dallas office oversees Oklahoma cases from 8101 N. Stemmons Frwy, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
4. Many detainees go to Cimarron Correctional Facility, 3200 S. Kings Hwy., Cushing, OK 74023. When you call its detainee line, 918-225-3336, have the A-number and the person's birth details ready.
5. Run a search on the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

Oklahoma's HB 4156 (21 O.S. § 1795) would punish unlawful presence as a state crime. A federal judge has blocked enforcement, and the appeal is still pending.

A prison sentence usually means a long wait in Medford before the transfer. DOC says the transfer comes, in its word, "Normally" six to nine months after sentencing. They then pass through assessment and reception and on to a prison matched to their custody level.

• Each prison is profiled in our Oklahoma state prisons guide.
• For status checks, search the DOC Offender Lookup.
• The department's main line is 405-425-2500. Letters go to 4345 N. Lincoln Blvd, Oklahoma City, OK 73105.

Minors skip the adult lockup and are routed to a youth detention center. Processing at a jail may last six hours at most, and OAC 310:670-5-5 requires the youth be kept completely out of adult inmates' sight and hearing. Youth cases here go through the Office of Juvenile Affairs, 2501 N. Lincoln Blvd, Suite 500, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-530-2800. Enid's Garfield County Juvenile Detention Center is the closest on OJA's list. Juvenile Affairs can confirm where your child was taken and the hearing date.

Each booking file lists who made the arrest; a call to the jail will tell you. Below are the agencies working here, with each town's 2025 Census population:

• Grant County Sheriff's Office, 219 N. First St., Medford, OK 73759, 580-395-2356. Deputies cover about 1,000 square miles outside the two cities.
• Medford Police Department (901 people), 615 N. Front St., Medford, OK 73759. Call City Hall at 580-395-2823.
• Pond Creek Police Department (878 people), 120 S 2nd, Pond Creek, OK 73766, 580-532-1085.
• Towns patrolled by deputies: Wakita (304), Lamont (293), Nash (183), Manchester (92), Deer Creek (78), Renfrow (20) and Jefferson (11). Call the Sheriff's Office for these.
• Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Troop J in Enid, 580-234-6431. Troopers can say which troop handled an arrest.