1. Search the official inmate lookup by surname. If dozens of matches appear, include the first name too.
2. Check the host jail lists. Brookings posts a Current Inmates PDF that refreshes every 15 minutes. Minnehaha runs Who's Behind Bars, searchable by last name, with each person's File ID, booking date, bond and charges. Clay has a current inmates page, and Roberts an active inmates portal.
3. Try other spellings, a maiden name, or just the last name.
4. Still stuck? Call the Moody Sheriff's Office at 605-997-2423 and ask where the person was taken.

Minnehaha warns that its bond figures can be off, so confirm the amount by phone before paying. It also says its staff will never call you to demand money. Treat any such call as fraud.

Several things can hide a person for a while:

• The ride is not over. Moody deputies must drive prisoners to Brookings, Sioux Falls or farther, and booking takes time after arrival.
• A less common host. The Lake County Jail in Madison may be holding them. Call it at 605-256-5044.
• Already out. A promise-to-appear release can happen within hours.
• Tribal custody. An arrest of an enrolled member by tribal police stays with the tribe. Reach the tribal police office at 605-573-4189.
• Federal or juvenile. Those cases follow other paths.

The Sheriff's Office at 108 E. Pipestone Ave., Suite A, Flandreau, SD 57028, 605-997-2423, knows the arresting agency and the jail the person was sent to.

Moody's own deputies or city police make the arrest, and the case stays at the county seat's courthouse. Only the jail bed is elsewhere. Under SDCL 24-11-3, a county without its own lockup may contract in writing for beds elsewhere, and it covers the bill. Bond, visits, mail and money are all handled by whichever host has the person.

• Brookings County Detention Center, 315 7th Avenue, Brookings, SD 57006, 605-696-8308. A main host. Its capacity of 84 covers both men and women, and it names Moody as a contract county.
• Minnehaha County Jail, 305 W. 4th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104, 605-367-4321. The other main host, under a 2026 housing contract. It also holds federal and immigration prisoners.
• Lake County Jail, 200 E Center St, Madison, SD 57042, 605-256-5044. Used for some Moody prisoners.
• Roberts County Detention Center, 11924 BIA Highway 700, Sisseton, SD 57262, 605-698-7667. A maximum-security jail Moody paid for housing in 2026.
• Clay County Jail, 1250 Stanford St, Vermillion, SD 57069, 605-677-7100. Clay agreed in January 2026 to board Moody inmates in its new jail.

A teen is held at the juvenile center in Sioux Falls. For tribal arrests, the tribe's police can say where the person is held. When in doubt, the Sheriff's Office at 605-997-2423 knows which jail it used.

Moody's online lookup shows no mugshots. A booking photo is taken at the host jail, so that jail controls it. Minnehaha gives out booking photos only on request, only for felony arrests and only within six months. It charges $8 cash per photo, using a form at the Sheriff's front desk, 320 W. 4th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (help line 605-367-4300). That release does not cover people held for other agencies, which includes Moody's prisoners there.

For a photo from Brookings, call the Detention Center at 605-696-8308. Reporters can ask the Moody Sheriff's Office at 605-997-2423. ICE photos are requested through ICE's FOIA office. Federal booking photos usually stay private, except that the Marshals may publish one while searching for an escaped or wanted person.

Yes. South Dakota's free SAVIN service, run through the Attorney General, tracks custody status. Once you register a phone or email, it sends an alert on release, transfer or another custody change. It works around the clock.

The SAVIN help line, 844-299-4608, is staffed 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central on weekdays. SAVIN leaves out juvenile cases. For a teen, or for a victim's questions, call the State's Attorney at 605-997-2207.

Moody is in the Third Judicial Circuit. Officers phone an on-call judge for bond from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., and later arrests wait for morning. Judge-set bond applies to all felonies and some Class 1 misdemeanors, such as stalking or simple assault. A Class 2 misdemeanor arrest usually ends with release once the person signs a promise to show up. If 48 hours go by and no judge has found probable cause, a person kept without bond must be freed.

Bond is paid at the host jail. Brookings takes it at its lobby kiosk or on the JailATM website the county links. Minnehaha names CourtMoney.com for online bond. A DUI bond often adds the 24/7 Sobriety Program: twice-daily breath tests or a monitor, at capped fees (SDCL 1-11-20).

One warning for families. After a domestic assault arrest, the jailed person can't contact the alleged victim, or others who live there, until the first court date (SDCL 25-10-43). That includes messages sent through you. Don't pass along messages. Our bail and bond page covers amounts, steps and refunds.

The Minnehaha list shows each charge next to the person's name. At Brookings, check the Current Inmates PDF or call the Detention Center. The first court hearing is where a judge reads the charge out loud (SDCL 23A-4-3).

Charges can change after booking, because the State's Attorney decides what to file. Their office is at 310 S Wind, Flandreau, SD 57028, 605-997-2207. The Clerk of Courts can read off the filed charge and case number, 605-997-3181. The state's PARS record search sells a case summary for $20 per search, even if nothing turns up.

When first brought before a judge, the person should say they can't pay for a lawyer and request one (SDCL 23A-40-6). Moody uses private law firms under county contracts in place of a public defender office. The judge assigns one, and the county pays (SDCL 23A-40-7, 23A-40-8).

Later, the person may be ordered to repay Moody, even if found not guilty (SDCL 23A-40-10). The Clerk of Courts at 605-997-3181 can explain the application. Nothing stops relatives from hiring a private attorney at any stage. A hired lawyer can visit the host jail and ask for a bond review.

The host jail sets the rules. More on our visitation page.

• Brookings: visits are by video. Lobby screens run Monday to Thursday 9 a.m. to noon and Saturday 6 to 9 p.m. Book through the phone provider's website at least 24 hours ahead, with no exceptions. Home video visits through the provider's free app cost $0.25 per minute, but only while inmate phones are on. For booking problems, call 605-696-8308.
• Minnehaha: free lobby visits Sunday and Tuesday to Saturday, 7:30 to 10:15 a.m., 1 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9:30 p.m., booked 24 hours ahead. No lobby visits Mondays. Visits last 30 minutes. Bring a photo ID. Minors visit only alongside a parent or guardian. Remote visits run daily for $0.30 a minute.
• Clay: Sunday, Monday and Thursday, 2 to 4 p.m. Call 605-677-7117 on the day of the visit.
• Lake or Roberts: phone the jail for its schedule.

Each host jail handles its own deposits. Our money page and commissary page add detail.

• Brookings: the lobby kiosk takes cash or card, and the JailATM deposit website takes cards. A cash deposit costs $3. A card deposit costs the greater of $3 or 10 percent. The same site sells care packages. Cash, checks or money orders sent by mail are refused.
• Minnehaha: families can fund an account online, through the lobby kiosk or with front desk staff. CourtMoney.com is named for commissary money as well. Money orders and checks are refused. Commissary is sold twice a week, up to $75 an order.
• Lake, Roberts or Clay: call the jail.

Yes. Calls are paid from prepaid accounts that family members can fund. See our phone page and messaging page.

• Brookings: add call minutes on the phone provider's website. You can also leave a message for an inmate at 605-305-4530 during their phone hours.
• Minnehaha: each housing unit has phones, paid from a prepaid account set up at 800-943-2189. Texts cost $0.25 each and photos or documents $0.35. Calls are recorded. Inmates also get tablets with free books.

Assume every call and message is monitored. Never talk about the case, and never relay words to an alleged victim.

Both main hosts scan personal mail at an out-of-state center and send it to the inmate's tablet. Brookings sends back personal letters addressed to the jail building. See our mail page.

• Brookings (since February 1, 2026): Brookings County Jail - SD, Inmate [First Last name], 1533 S 42nd Street, Suite 200, Grand Forks, ND 58201. Use a return address, a standard envelope and pages up to 8.5 by 14 inches. No staples, no packages and no money. Legal mail still goes to 315 7th Avenue, Brookings, SD 57006.
• Minnehaha: Inmate name, File ID#, Minnehaha County Jail, PO Box 591, Longview, TX 75606. Use a return address. Up to five pages, 8.5 by 11, one side, and one photo. Legal and medical mail go to 305 W. 4th St., Sioux Falls, SD 57104.

Books must come straight from the publisher, or at Brookings from one approved bookstore chain. For Lake, Roberts or Clay, call for the mail address.

Whatever was taken at booking stays in the host jail's storage until release. Brookings accepts no property drop-offs, except medical items its nurse approves in advance. Clothing, magazines, hygiene items and writing tools are turned away, since the jail supplies basics and sells extras. Call 605-696-8308 before you bring anything.

Minnehaha gives out a hygiene kit at booking. At release it returns stored property in one batch, aside from one set of clothes, just one time per stay, unless a sergeant approves another pickup. Leftover account money is paid on a debit card. Ask the jail at 605-367-4321 about pickup.

Each host jail runs its own health care. Brookings has medical service 24 hours a day, a full-time nurse and mental health counseling. Minnehaha takes medical requests through a kiosk in the housing unit, handles emergency dental care, sells over-the-counter medicine through commissary, and follows national jail health standards.

When the person needs a daily prescription or has a serious illness, phone the host jail right away and ask for the medical staff. Have the doctor's name and the drug list ready. Outside the jail, emergencies go to 911.

The Sheriff's Office serves Moody warrants from 108 E. Pipestone Ave., Suite A, Flandreau, SD 57028, 605-997-2423, and city police do so in town, 605-997-3830. Call to ask whether one is open. The DOC Most Wanted list shows people on escape status, the Sex Offender Registry is open to public searches, and UJS ePayments flags a case with an active warrant. Get a lawyer's view first. Then the person may show up at the court whose judge signed it. Phoning that court to request another hearing date is the other route. For Moody that is the Clerk of Courts, 101 East Pipestone Avenue, Flandreau, SD 57028, 605-997-3181.

Hearings appear in South Dakota's free Find a Court Date tool, which needs either the name or the case number. A daily Moody calendar, covering the next nine business days, can be built there as well. Or call the Clerk of Courts at 605-997-3181, weekdays 8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.

Missing a date after release is a new crime and costs the bail (SDCL 23A-43-31). Our Moody court guide walks through every stage.

Federal cases from Moody go to the Southern Division court in Sioux Falls: United States Courthouse, 400 S. Phillips Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57104, 605-330-6600. Pretrial detention is settled by that court at its first hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142). Serious crimes on tribal land can be federal under the Major Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. 1153).

Until trial, federal defendants are in Marshals custody, usually in county jail beds. The Minnehaha jail list labels Marshals prisoners. The Marshals office is at 400 South Phillips Avenue, Room 216, Sioux Falls, SD 57104, 605-330-4351. After sentencing, search the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

1. ICE can lodge a detainer, Form I-247A, with whichever host jail has the person.
2. The request is to hold the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released, giving ICE time to arrive (8 CFR 287.7(d)). The Minnehaha jail list marks immigration holds.
3. ICE may then move the person. The Pennington County Jail, 307 Saint Joseph St, Rapid City, SD 57701, 605-394-6116, appears on ICE's list of South Dakota detention sites.
4. The ICE Online Detainee Locator takes an A-number. Families lacking that number can try a name together with the birth country.
5. Call the ICE St. Paul office, 1 Federal Drive, Suite 1601, Fort Snelling, MN 55111, 612-843-8600, which serves South Dakota.

SB 7 (SL 2025, ch 100) also bars South Dakota counties and cities from rules that limit sharing immigration status with federal officials.

Once sentenced to prison on a felony, the person is handed over from the host jail to the South Dakota Department of Corrections. The DOC first evaluates new prisoners, then assigns each to a prison matched to risk level and needs.

The DOC Offender Locator covers state prisoners, not county jail inmates. Moody families can look up a relative there with a DOC ID or by surname. The DOC central office is at 3200 East Highway 34, Pierre, SD 57501, 605-773-3478. Our state prisons page has every South Dakota prison.

No. Teens are kept out of them. A detained Moody youth is driven south. Their stay is in Sioux Falls: Minnehaha County Regional Juvenile Detention Center, 4200 S. West Ave., Sioux Falls, SD 57105, 605-367-4313. It is open around the clock, and its office works 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Parents can read the center's parent information page.

Most children go home with a parent. Holding a youth requires a reason found in SDCL 26-8C-3, decided by an intake officer. The case goes to circuit court in Flandreau, which covers ages 10 and up (SDCL 26-8C-2).

• Moody County Sheriff's Office, 108 E. Pipestone Ave., Suite A, Flandreau, SD 57028, 605-997-2423. It patrols the rural county and, by contract, Colman, Egan, Trent and Ward. It also backs up city and tribal officers, guards the Flandreau Indian School and runs 911 dispatch for the whole county.
• Flandreau Police Department, 200 N. Crescent Street, Flandreau, SD 57028, 605-997-3830. Office hours 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. It covers the city.
• Santee Sioux Tribal Police, 603 W. Broad Avenue, Flandreau, SD 57028, office 605-573-4189. Non-emergency calls go through the county dispatch line above. Tribal officers enforce tribal law on the tribe's lands. When they arrest a tribal member there, the case usually goes to tribal court. Serious crimes can go to federal court, and county arrests go to a host jail.
• South Dakota Highway Patrol, District Two, based in Sioux Falls, patrols state highways in this area. Ask the Sheriff's dispatch which trooper's office to call.

For any emergency, dial 911.