The county publishes a roll of people in custody. To read it:

1. Go to the inmate log.
2. Use your browser's find box to hunt for the surname.
3. Still empty? Swap in a short version of the first name or try an old last name.
4. Copy any ID number printed by the name. The phone and mail companies use it, and so do jail workers.

This log is plain text without photos. The county also posts a booking log for the month on its jail records page. For a same-day answer, phone 509-422-7200 and ask for the Corrections Center.

Several things can leave a search blank:

• Still in booking. The log is a list that gets updated by staff. A fresh arrest can take hours, or a whole weekend.
• Already out. A judge may have set them free, they may have paid bail, or the officer may have written a ticket and let them go.
• Held by a tribe. Arrests on the Colville Reservation can lead to the tribe's own jail in Nespelem.
• Sent elsewhere. Another county or the state may have a hold on them.
• A teen. Minors are taken to juvenile detention.

Your best bet is to ring the jail on 509-422-7200. Dispatch also takes non-emergency questions at 509-422-7232.

Only one adult county jail serves the whole area. It books arrests from every police agency:

• Corrections Center, 149 North 4th Avenue, Okanogan, WA 98840, 509-422-7200 (the Sheriff's main number, so ask for the jail). The building has 194 beds. Inside the same program, people a court approves may serve time on home monitoring, on work release or on a work crew.
• The Colville Tribal Jail in Nespelem, 509-634-7352, takes people charged in tribal court. The county log leaves tribal bookings out, so phone to check.

No town here runs a city jail. A local police station is a short stop at most. If someone was arrested far from Okanogan, the arresting agency can tell you where they were taken. Holds by federal, immigration or state agencies come up near the end of this page.

They are not. The log lists names alone, so there are no mugshots or booking photos to view. Under RCW 70.48.100, a booking photo is kept confidential. Photos of sex offense convicts can be let out. Officers may still use them to work a case.

To ask for a photo, get in touch with the arresting agency. The Sheriff's Office answers at 509-422-7200.

• Any picture ICE took is asked for through the agency's records request portal.
• Federal mugshots stay closed. One exception: the U.S. Marshals Service can release a photo, for instance when it is looking for a fugitive.

Washington's free VINE service sends the alert. The state's sheriffs and police chiefs back it through their group, WASPC. Choose how the news reaches you: by voice, by text or by email. It never closes, and it follows every city and county jail along with the state prison system.

• Sign up on VINELink or dial 877-846-3492.
• Fresh jail data reaches the system in under half an hour.
• VINE skips juvenile lockups, and it shows no hearing dates.

Plan on a call to the jail before you drive to meet someone, since release times can slip.

The court decides, normally at the first appearance on the next court day. Washington courts first ask whether the person can simply be released on a promise to appear. They set conditions or bail only if the person seems likely to flee, threaten a witness or hurt someone, and the amount has to match the person's means. A judge cannot demand that bail be paid in cash alone.

• Paying: for county Superior and District Court cases, courthouse offices take bail from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays that are not holidays. Outside those hours, go to the jail lobby, which accepts cash and nothing else (no checks, debit cards or credit cards). Bail on Douglas County charges is also taken there.
• Domestic violence arrests: release waits for a judge or the bail rules. A no-contact order often goes with it.
• Bail bond agents: each needs a state license. Look one up through the Department of Licensing or phone 360-664-6611. Get each fee on paper.

Our bail page adds the steps, and Washington's bail laws gives a statewide summary.

Try the free Washington Courts case search. It spans municipal, district and superior courts and shows which court has the file.

• Misdemeanor cases: District Court clerk, 149 N 3rd Ave, Room 306, Okanogan, WA 98840, 509-422-7170.
• Felony cases: County Clerk, 149 3rd Ave N, Okanogan, WA 98840, 509-422-7275.
• The Prosecuting Attorney picks what to file. The office is at 237 4th Ave N, Okanogan, WA 98840, 509-422-7280.

Court files trail a new arrest by days. The jail can give the booking charge while you wait.

The person asks for one when they first stand before the judge. A short screening follows. Three paths lead to a free lawyer: getting certain public benefits, earning little compared with the federal poverty level, or simply lacking the money for a private attorney.

The county's Office of Public Defense, 1240 2nd Ave S, Okanogan, WA 98840, 509-422-7150, assigns lawyers to those who qualify. Cases that begin in Omak, Brewster or Winthrop use separate city defenders, so ask that town's court clerk. See the state Office of Public Defense site for background. You can hire a private attorney whenever you like.

Each person gets two free lobby visits a week, 15 minutes apiece.

• Book at least one day early by phoning 509-422-7200.
• Lobby times are Friday 1 to 4 p.m., and both Saturday and Sunday from 8 to 11 a.m. and 1 to 4 p.m.
• When you book, ask how the visit works, which ID to carry, and who is allowed.

Video visits run through PayTel, which sets its own rates. Its number is 800-729-8355. The county does not operate that service, so billing questions go to PayTel. Schedules shift, so confirm before you travel. Our visitor tips add basics.

Account money covers commissary items, hygiene products and phone time. The county has pages for inmate finances and commissary. Ring 509-422-7200 to hear which deposit options work today, what the caps are, and what details you need, like the full name and ID number.

Our deposit guide lays out the usual methods. Our commissary guide shows the goods the money buys. Never mail cash.

PayTel runs phones and messaging here. Ask staff at 509-422-7200 about opening an account, call rates and recording. Treat every call as recorded. Only talks with an attorney are meant to stay private.

Take what you know about the case to the attorney alone. Read the jail phone tips and the inmate email and text tips as well.

Two mailing spots appear on the county page. The page carries an older date, so verify with 509-422-7200 first.

• Everyday letters: the person's name and ID, then Okanogan County Jail, WA, Facility ID 5240, P.O. Box 18247, Greensboro, NC 27419. An outside mail company processes these.
• Legal mail and third-party items: Okanogan County Jail, the person's name, 149 North 4th Avenue, Okanogan, WA 98840.

Leave out books, magazines, cash and checks. See our mail guide for common rules.

Anything that arrived with the person is kept in the jail's property room until they go home. The county posts a property and clothing page, yet drop-off and pickup details are best checked by phone. Ask at 509-422-7200 who may collect the items, which ID is needed and what times work. Pickup goes through the Corrections Center, 149 North 4th Avenue, Okanogan, WA 98840.

Dial 509-422-7200 and ask for the nurse's office. Provide the name, ID number, each drug and strength, and the prescriber. A sick call slip filed from inside helps as well, so pass that word along.

Call 911 first when someone's life is in danger. If the worry is about someone's state of mind, say so right at the start.

Sheriff's deputies handle warrants out in the country. Officers of a city or town handle them inside its limits. Reach the Sheriff's Office at 509-422-7200, or open its warrants page. To verify a case, call the District Court clerk on 509-422-7170 or the County Clerk on 509-422-7275, or run the Washington Courts case search. To get one lifted, speak with an attorney before you approach the judge who signed it. Find the clerk at 149 3rd Ave N, Okanogan, WA 98840.

The court holding the case gives out the date:

• District Court, 149 N 3rd Ave, Room 306, Okanogan, WA 98840, 509-422-7170. Its docket also takes cases from Coulee Dam, Elmer City, Oroville, Pateros, Riverside, Tonasket, Twisp and the town of Okanogan.
• Superior Court, 149 3rd Ave N, Okanogan, WA 98840, 509-422-7130, handles felonies.
• Omak Municipal Court, 2 N Ash, Omak, WA 98841, 509-826-2971.
• Brewster Municipal Court, 105 S 3rd St, Brewster, WA 98812, 509-689-2756.
• Winthrop Municipal Court, 208 Riverside Ave, Winthrop, WA 98862, 509-996-2320.

Our court page takes you through a case from start to finish. You can also use "Find My Court Date" at dw.courts.wa.gov.

The Eastern District of Washington court takes federal charges from this area, with courthouses in Spokane, Yakima and Richland. To learn which courthouse holds a case, ask the Spokane clerk: 509-458-3400, 920 West Riverside Avenue, Room 840, Spokane, WA 99201.

1. A judge rules on detention at the first federal hearing (18 U.S.C. 3142).
2. The U.S. Marshals supervise people held before trial. Their Spokane office is at 920 West Riverside Avenue, Suite 200, Spokane, WA 99201, 509-842-1400.
3. For a federal defender, ask the clerk's office.
4. When the sentence is federal, a Bureau of Prisons search tells you which prison holds the person.

The agency makes that request on Form I-247A, which it calls a detainer. Under 8 CFR 287.7(d), the hold can last the person up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released. Washington adds limits.

1. A state law, RCW 10.93.160, limits what jails may do. Its name is the Keep Washington Working Act. A jail cannot hold a person only on ICE's civil warrant or detainer.
2. A jail also may not hold someone merely to find out their status.
3. Without the person's written consent, ICE cannot question them inside about a matter that is not criminal.
4. Washington does not permit its local agencies to sign 287(g) agreements.
5. To find a person, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator.
6. ICE Seattle Field Office: 12500 Tukwila International Boulevard, Seattle, WA 98168, 206-277-2000.
7. Northwest ICE Processing Center: 1623 E J St SE, Tacoma, WA 98421, 253-396-1611.

Newly sentenced people are received at a reception center of the state Department of Corrections. A stay in the county lockup may come first, so ask at 509-422-7200.

• The DOC incarcerated individual search takes the person's name, and also a DOC number if you have one. Each result gives a location and a housing unit but no photo.
• DOC offices: 7345 Linderson Way SW, Tumwater, WA 98501, 360-725-8213, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Visiting and mail rules for each prison can be found in the Washington state prisons section.

Minors never share space with the adult population. The area has its own juvenile detention unit, 509-422-7260. Juvenile Court sits within Superior Court at 237 N 4th Ave, Okanogan, WA 98840, 509-422-7250.

If a child is locked up before charges, the court has to take a fresh look at the hold within three days, not counting weekends and holidays (72 hours). If it does not, the child is freed. VINE leaves out youth detention, so use these two numbers.

Many agencies cover this very large county. Ask the Sheriff's Office or the jail which one brought the person in.

• Sheriff's Office, 123 5th Ave, Room 200, Okanogan, WA 98840, 509-422-7200. Non-emergency dispatch is 509-422-7232. Deputies patrol outside city limits.
• Town and city police: Omak, Okanogan, Oroville, Tonasket, Brewster and other towns field their own officers. Dispatch, listed above, can connect you or give a number.
• Colville Tribal Police work on the reservation. The tribal court, 509-634-2500, can point you in the right direction.
• Washington State Patrol: the patrol's contact directory shows the district office nearest to you.