1. Pull up the Sheriff's jail search.
2. Enter the surname. Fewer letters can catch a spelling slip.
3. If the screen says the list is updating, switch to VINELink. Choose the person's record to see where they are held.
4. Write down any booking details you find. Staff locate people faster with them.

VINE also answers by phone at 877-654-8463, day or night. For the surest answer, call the jail at 580-832-2413.

Most gaps have an everyday cause:

• Booking is still going on. Intake takes time, and the list may lag behind.
• They already left. Bond got posted, or the judge sent them home.
• They changed places. A neighboring county, DOC or the federal system may now hold them.
• The record uses another name. Try the birth certificate spelling, or a maiden surname.
• They are under 18. Minors are not held with adults.

Sheriff's dispatch answers every hour at 580-832-2370. Office staff work weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Adults charged here normally stay in the county's own lockup on McClary Street. An arrest close to a border can still end up next door, so these four jails are worth a call:

• Custer County Jail, 300 North 7th Ave., Arapaho, OK 73620, 580-323-1616. Clinton is split between Custer and this county, so check here for arrests on the Custer side.
• Caddo County Jail, 201 West Oklahoma, Anadarko, OK 73005, 405-247-6666
• Kiowa County Jail, 301 S. Jefferson, Hobart, OK 73651, 580-726-2381
• Beckham County Jail, 108 S. 3rd, Sayre, OK 73662, 580-928-2121

The Sheriff's search is built for finding names. Its entries can show a "no image currently available" marker where a picture would go. For a booking photo request, phone the Sheriff's Office at 580-832-2370 on a weekday.

Oklahoma's records law opens two things to anyone: the reason for an arrest and the jail register (51 O.S. § 24A.8). Photos aren't spelled out in it, which leaves each photo request to the Sheriff.

• Photos from an immigration arrest are requested through ICE's Freedom of Information requests.
• Federal booking photos mostly stay sealed. A Marshals wanted poster is one rare exception.

Oklahoma's VINE service watches custody records and sends a message by phone, text or email when something changes. It reports moves, escapes, captures, releases and deaths.

• Register on VINELink, or call 877-654-8463. Alerts start only after you sign up.
• Prisoners moved into DOC receive a different ID, which means a fresh VINE sign-up.
• During any stay at a state psychiatric hospital, notices stop, then restart when DOC regains custody.

Same-day news still comes quickest from the jail at 580-832-2413.

For a state case, the judge at the District Court names the bond. After that, the family chooses cash, a licensed bondsman or a property pledge, unless the judge allows release on a signed promise alone. The Court Clerk is at 111 Main Street, Cordell, OK 73632, 580-832-3836.

• Bail is a right in most cases. Only certain violent, life-sentence and repeat-felony charges can mean no bail (Okla. Const. art. II § 8).
• A second or later DUI waits for a judge's bond order (HB 1222).
• A hold from another Oklahoma place can be lifted by posting that place's bond (HB 1991).

See our bail and release guide for payment steps, bondsmen and refunds.

Ask the jail at 580-832-2413 what the person was booked on. In Oklahoma, the cause of an arrest and the jail's booking records are public information (51 O.S. § 24A.8).

Charges in court may not match the booking sheet. After prosecutors file, look the case up on the OSCN docket search, or on ODCR. Final charges are the District Attorney's call, at 111 E. Main, Cordell, OK 73632, 580-832-3144.

Free counsel is available to people who truly can't pay. Inside the jail, request the appointed-lawyer form from staff. Once it reaches the Court Clerk, a judge decides who qualifies. The clerk is at 111 Main Street, Cordell, OK 73632, 580-832-3836.

• Appointed cases go to the Oklahoma Indigent Defense System's Clinton office, 823 Frisco Ave, Clinton, OK 73601, 580-323-2951.
• Applying costs $40, paid to the Court Fund. With the judge's okay, it waits until the case closes.
• Families can also retain their own attorney.

No-contact visits run Monday and Friday, 8:00 to 11:00 in the morning. An approved visitor may come once a week for 10 minutes.

• The person in jail fills out a visitor form listing up to 6 people, with each one's name, address and birth date.
• Staff run a records and warrant check. Only approved visitors may come, and no more than 3 on a given day.
• Anyone under 18 must come with an adult.
• Someone released from this jail must wait at least 30 days before visiting a current inmate.
• Visitors from out of state may ask the Jail Administrator for a one-time visit at another time. Call on a weekday first.
• Clergy visit by appointment and must show credentials.

Visits are booked through the scheduling link on the Sheriff's visitation page. Questions go to 580-832-2413. Our visiting tips help you get ready.

The Sheriff's commissary page links to the jail's deposit company for web deposits and commissary orders. Other rules from the Sheriff:

• Money orders and bank or cashier's checks go into the commissary account.
• Personal checks and traveler's checks are refused. A check mailed to an inmate is sent back.
• Cash must arrive by Monday at 2:00 p.m. to be handed out that Thursday. Ask staff where cash is accepted.
• Commissary orders close Monday at 4:30 p.m. and are delivered on Thursday.

Questions go to 580-832-2413, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekdays. Our deposit guide and commissary page explain the basics. Never mail cash.

Right after booking, Oklahoma's jail standards allow a new prisoner two or more calls, local or collect. Most families hear something within a few hours. Later calls go through the jail's phone vendor.

Jail staff at 580-832-2413 can explain account setup, call prices and any tablet or message service. Assume someone is listening, and save talk about the case for the attorney. Our inmate phone guide and messaging guide cover the common systems.

Address every letter like this, using the full name with the middle name:

Full Name
Washita County Jail
400 North McClary
Cordell, OK 73632

• No inmate number is needed. All mail, legal mail too, uses this one address.
• Delivery runs Monday to Saturday except holidays. As long as postage is right, write as often as you like.
• Staff open mail to check for contraband. Letters from lawyers, courts and elected officials are opened only in front of the inmate.
• Envelopes with drawings or extra writing beyond the names and addresses are returned.
• Packages are refused. Magazines and newspapers are banned too.
• Paperback books may be sent, but they become jail property. Crossword books come only through commissary.

Our jail mail guide has more tips.

Pockets are emptied at booking, and every item goes onto an inventory sheet. On release day, staff go down that inventory with them, and they sign. To collect something on their behalf, phone 580-832-2413 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on a weekday, and ask whether a signed note from them is required.

Bring your photo ID to the jail, 400 N. McClary St., New Cordell, OK 73632.

Oklahoma requires jails to treat sickness and injuries that begin at arrest or during the stay, at an adequate level (74 O.S. § 192). Nurses or officers screen each person at intake and explain the sick-call process. Put a request in writing, and a licensed provider should see the person within 48 hours, sooner for urgent needs.

Worried about a health issue? Phone the jail at 580-832-2413. Have the prescription, its strength and the doctor's phone ready. In an emergency, call 911.

Deputies handle warrant service countywide. For a warrant question, dial 580-832-2370 and ask for Records. The Sheriff keeps a Most Wanted page online. Statewide, look at the Attorney General's top-ten Oklahoma Most Wanted and the Department of Corrections Orange Alert escape page. For national fugitives, there is the Marshals Service top 15. Court warrants appear on OSCN case dockets. Talk with an attorney before any surrender. Surrender happens at the jail, 400 N. McClary St., New Cordell, OK 73632. Or call the Court Clerk at 111 Main Street, Cordell, OK 73632, 580-832-3836, about a bond or new date.

State cases are listed on the OSCN docket search and on odcr.com. Type the name and scan for hearings ahead. The Court Clerk at 580-832-3836 can confirm a date.

Town tickets have their own schedules. Burns Flat's court meets at Town Hall (P.O. Box 410, Burns Flat, OK 73624) at 6 p.m. on the second and fourth Tuesday, 580-562-3144. The New Cordell court office is at 101 E. Main Street, Cordell, OK 73632, 580-832-3825. Phone before you go, since City Hall is set to change buildings. Our criminal court guide explains each step.

A federal arrest from these parts goes before the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma, 200 NW 4th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-609-5000.

1. At the first court date, a detention hearing decides between home and jail until trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The U.S. Marshals hold federal prisoners waiting for trial, often in a county jail under contract or at the Federal Transfer Center, 7410 S. MacArthur Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73169, 405-682-4075. Ask the Marshals office at 405-231-4206 where the person is.
3. The Federal Public Defender, 215 Dean A. McGee Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73102, 405-609-5930, defends people in federal court with too little money for a lawyer.
4. After sentencing, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator by name or register number.

1. Paperwork comes first. ICE sends the jail an I-247A detainer form.
2. The jail can keep them up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. ICE officers transfer them. Oklahoma is covered by the Dallas Field Office, 8101 N. Stemmons Frwy, Dallas, TX 75247, 972-367-2200.
4. People are often held at Cimarron Correctional Facility, 3200 S. Kings Hwy., Cushing, OK 74023. Its detainee line is 918-225-3336, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Before calling, gather the A-number, any other names used, and the person's birthday and birthplace.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator.

HB 4156, which made unlawful presence a state crime, is tied up in federal court and can't be enforced while the appeal runs.

After a prison sentence, the person may stay in the county jail for months. DOC usually transfers people 6 to 9 months after sentencing. At DOC they get a new number and a custody review, then a prison assignment.

• Search the DOC Offender Lookup.
• Use our Oklahoma state prisons list for each facility's rules.
• Put the ODOC number on every envelope, beside the name. DOC headquarters: 4345 North Lincoln Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-425-2500.

Youths are taken to juvenile detention, not the county lockup. An adult jail can hold a youth for just a few hours, for identification or transfer, and only out of contact with adults. Usually a judge looks at the detention by the following judicial day.

The Office of Juvenile Affairs District 6 office serves this county from 111 Janets Way, Elk City, OK 73644, 580-243-1444, weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Phone it to learn the youth's location and hearing day. The state office is at 2501 N. Lincoln Blvd., Suite 500, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405-530-2800.

Here is every law agency that may have made the arrest.

• Washita County Sheriff's Office: 400 N. McClary St., New Cordell, OK 73632, 580-832-2370, dispatch around the clock. Deputies cover the rural county and every town with no police force of its own.
• New Cordell Police Department: reached through the city at 101 E. Main Street, Cordell, OK 73632, 580-832-3825. City population 2,746 (2025).
• Burns Flat Police Department: officers patrol around the clock, and reports are taken through Sheriff's dispatch. Town Hall: P.O. Box 410, Burns Flat, OK 73624, 580-562-3144. Population 1,918 (2025).
• Clinton Police Department: 580-323-2323. City Hall is at 415 Gary Blvd, Clinton, OK 73601. The city stretches into Custer County.
• Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Troop H: based in Clinton, 580-323-2424. Troopers work the state and federal highways.

Sheriff's deputies patrol these smaller towns (2025 populations): Sentinel (756), Corn (589), Canute (488), Dill City (417), Bessie (182), Rocky (126), Colony (106) and Foss (105). For any of them, call Sheriff's dispatch.