The roster has about 24 pages, so skip the scrolling and use the name box. Try this:

1. Go to the Sheriff's roster.
2. Enter a last name. If hundreds match, narrow it with a first name.
3. Match the photo and age to the person you know.
4. Press "View Charges" beside the name to see the accusations.
5. Press "Notify Me of Status Change" to get a message when the record updates.

If nothing helps, phone 423-542-1845 and ask for Booking.

A blank search should not scare you. Here are the common causes:

• Paperwork in progress. Officers finish booking before the roster updates.
• Police station first. A city department may hold someone briefly before the ride to the jail.
• Citation only. Some people receive a paper summons with a hearing date and head home.
• Out already. They may have posted bond or signed a promise to come back to court.
• Elsewhere. A neighbor county or the state could be the one holding them.
• Spelling. Test other spellings, an alias, or a name changed by marriage.

The jail desk can settle it at 423-542-1845.

Only one adult lockup exists here, the Carter County Detention Center, 900 East Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643, 423-542-1845. Adults of both sexes who await court or serve short terms are kept there.

A person caught near the border may sit in a neighbor's cells instead. Nearby choices are the Johnson County Jail, the Unicoi County Jail and the Washington County Detention Center. Open its JE page for the street address and phone.

Federal, immigration or state-prison cases may send a person elsewhere. Questions 17 to 19 cover those.

They do. Mugshots sit beside each name on the Sheriff's jail roster, which is handy when two people have the same name.

Pictures appear for people currently held. To ask about a photo of someone who has left, call the Sheriff's Office at 423-542-1845 and ask whether it can be handed out.

• ICE holds its own pictures. Request them with the ICE records page.
• Federal booking photos stay private. The lone exception is the U.S. Marshals Service, which may release a picture while searching for a fugitive.

Two tools are worth setting up. One is the "Notify Me of Status Change" link on the roster. The other is VINE, a free alert service.

• Register at VINELink after choosing Tennessee. You can also ring 888-868-4631, where a live operator answers around the clock.
• VINE leans toward people in state custody, so phone 423-542-1845 to learn how well it tracks the county jail.

Alerts can arrive late. Call before you drive over.

After an arrest, a judge or magistrate picks a bail figure. Tennessee tells them to keep it as low as still protects the public and brings the person back. They weigh home, work, family and any past record.

• Cash. The full amount goes to the Circuit Court Clerk, 900 East Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643, 423-542-1825. Check which cards or apps the clerk takes.
• Bondsman. A bondsman keeps about ten percent of the bond as a fee, and it is not refunded. The state insurance department licenses these businesses, and the local courts decide which ones may write bonds here.
• Cooling-off hold. In some domestic abuse or stalking cases, release may wait 12 hours or longer. Ask the jail.

More steps are in our bail guide, and the Tennessee bail law summary covers the statutes.

Open the "View Charges" link on the Sheriff's roster to read the booking charges. A prosecutor may add, drop or change counts later.

For the court's version, phone the Circuit Court Clerk at 423-542-1825, 900 East Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643. That office also keeps General Sessions records. Keep the person's date of birth ready. Felony counts are chosen by the District Attorney General for the First Judicial District, and clerk staff can say which court holds the file.

When the judge first sees them, the person should tell the court they cannot afford a lawyer. The judge reviews what the person earns and decides.

Public defenders for the First Judicial District, which includes this county, answer at 423-434-6845. Ask which office has the case. A private attorney is another path, and the Sheriff's website has an appointment form that lawyers use to meet a client inside the jail.

The Sheriff's website has a page for online video visits. Jails also keep their own schedules for visits on site, and these change. Phone 423-542-1845 before you plan a trip.

• Ask whether a brand-new arrival may have guests yet.
• Carry a government photo ID.
• Leave your phone and bags in the car.

For rules common to most jails, see our visiting page.

Money on an account buys store items, toiletries and more. See the Sheriff's commissary page for how the store runs. Phone 423-542-1845 to hear which deposit methods work today and what the caps are.

Have their full name along with the jacket number, if you can find it. For background, read our money page and commissary page. Cash must never go in the mail.

The Sheriff's site points families to Combined Public Communications for the jail phones. Expect the person to call you, not the other way around. Calls cost money and are usually recorded. Ask 423-542-1845 how to open a calling account.

A recording can end up in front of a judge, so keep case details between the person and their attorney. Our phone page compares calling choices, and our email page covers texting and email.

The Sheriff's website has an inmate mail policy and a page on the jacket number to put on mail. Phone 423-542-1845 to get the exact mailing address, because a wrong one sends your letter back.

Write on plain paper, sign with your return address and use the person's legal name. See our mail guide for typical limits. Hold off on stamps, loose photos and anything else until the jail says yes.

The jail keeps the clothes, wallet and phone it took at booking until the person leaves. Call 423-542-1845 and ask for Records or Booking. Learn whether a friend may pick up the bag and what slip the person must sign.

Take a photo ID to 900 East Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643. Items kept as proof in a case follow a different path, so ask the Sheriff's Office about them.

Call 423-542-1845 and reach for the nurse or medical unit. Share the medication, how often it is taken and the doctor's phone. Your person should also hand in a sick call slip from inside.

Call 911 for an emergency. If someone's mood or safety worries you, say so in simple words on the call.

Deputies work county warrants, and Elizabethton officers work city ones. Call the Sheriff, whose desk never closes, at 423-542-1845 or the city police at 423-542-4141, or read the Sheriff's warrant tip page. To look into a case, ring the Circuit Court Clerk, 423-542-1825. Get legal advice first. After that, call the issuing court about a new date or a surrender. The clerk's office sits at 900 East Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643, inside the courts building.

Match the case to its court:

• General Sessions and Juvenile Court sit in the Justice Center, 900 East Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643. Dial the Circuit Court Clerk at 423-542-1825 or the General Sessions judge's office at 423-542-0200.
• Courthouse annex, same street address, 423-542-1835.
• Elizabethton City Court, 136 South Sycamore Street, Elizabethton, TN 37643, 423-542-4141, handles city charges.

The Clerk and Master, 801 East Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643, 423-542-1812, covers civil matters only. Our court guide shows the path a case takes.

Cases filed in federal court from here are heard by the Greeneville division of the East Tennessee federal court. The James H. Quillen U.S. Courthouse is at 220 West Depot Street, Greeneville, TN 37743, and its clerk answers at 423-639-3105.

1. A detention hearing is where a judge chooses jail or freedom before trial (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The U.S. Marshals office is in Suite 101 of that building, 423-823-3660. Ask where your person is housed.
3. When a federal sentence is final, search the BOP inmate locator.

Here is the usual sequence:

1. ICE mails or sends the jail a paper called a detainer, Form I-247A.
2. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the jail may keep the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released.
3. Try the ICE Online Detainee Locator If you know the A-number, type it in. If not, give the legal name and where the person was born. ICE runs Tennessee cases from its New Orleans branch, whose contact details are on the locator.
4. The state lists Carter County as taking part in the 287(g) program. Its immigration enforcement division is at 615-532-9736.

State time means the Tennessee Department of Correction takes charge and chooses the prison. A wait in Elizabethton may come first, so ask at 423-542-1845.

• Search the state offender lookup for the picture, custody status, place, offense and term.
• The department's headquarters is at 320 Sixth Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37243, 615-741-1000.
• Our Tennessee prison guide covers visiting and mail.

Children are kept apart from adult inmates. Their case goes to Juvenile Court in the Justice Center, 900 East Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643. Ring 423-542-1829 to ask where the minor is and when the hearing takes place. Parents or guardians should plan to attend. The adult roster will not list a child.

Whichever department took the person into custody can say where they were booked:

• Carter County Sheriff's Office, 900 East Elk Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643, 423-542-1845. Deputies cover rural land and small communities beyond Elizabethton's borders.
• Elizabethton Police Department, 525 East F Street, Elizabethton, TN 37643, 423-542-4141.
• Tennessee Highway Patrol works the state roads. Use its list of district offices and pick the one for this county.