The rosters sit on the Sheriff's website as PDF files. Work through them like this:

1. Go to the jail roster page.
2. Tap the weekday of the arrest. Every file covers a single day, and the page keeps a week of them.
3. Hit Ctrl+F on a computer, or use Find in your phone's browser, and enter the last name.
4. Look at the custody status. IN CUSTODY tells you the person is still there. RELEASED is paired with the hour they walked out.
5. See "Housed At." It may point to the jail, home detention or a hospital.
6. Jot down every charge, its status and the bail figure so you have them ready.

Arrests from today appear in the file posted tomorrow morning. For a newer booking, phone 715-273-1124 and choose 9.

No match on the roster? The reason is usually ordinary:

• Booked today. That day's file arrives the following morning.
• Already free. Scroll back through earlier days. A person who left shows as RELEASED on the date they got out.
• Odd spelling. Retry the search using a nickname, the middle name or a name from before marriage.
• Arrested elsewhere. A stop in another county or across the river in Minnesota goes to that area's jail. Some people in Ellsworth are held for other counties, shown as a hold.
• Younger than 17. Kids 16 and under are handled by county juvenile intake, so they stay off this roster.

Jail staff can check fast at 715-273-1124, option 9. The Sheriff's front office keeps 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. weekday hours, and dispatch picks up at any hour at 715-273-5051.

The county's adult jail is the jail in the Law Enforcement Center, 555 West Overlook Drive, Ellsworth, WI 54011, 715-273-1124. Its roster mixes people awaiting court with people doing county time.

• Day Report area. It sits in that same building. Anyone sentenced to home monitoring checks in here to get a monitor fitted, then serves the time at home.
• Huber. The Sheriff's packet lists Huber and home monitoring side by side. Ask jail staff whether Huber work release fits a sentenced person.

Near the Dunn or Pepin county lines, a person might be booked across the border instead:

• Dunn County Jail, 615 Stokke Parkway, Menomonie, WI 54751, 715-232-2220
• Pepin County Jail, 740 7th Avenue West, Durand, WI 54736, 715-672-5945

For a stop farther off, Sheriff's dispatch at 715-273-5051 can say which agency has the person.

The daily rosters center on names, charges, bail and times. For mugshots, write to the Sheriff's Office and ask. Wisconsin's open records statutes, 19.31 to 19.39, govern these requests. Wisconsin's Department of Justice has a guide to those statutes, which presumes records are open. You generally need not share who you are or why you want a record. Even so, the office's records keeper rules on every photo. Records kept by police on a minor are not public.

• Reporters may also send the Sheriff's Office a request for a booking photo. Dispatch is open 24 hours at 715-273-5051.
• Photos held by immigration authorities are requested on ICE's FOIA page.
• Most federal mugshots are never released. The U.S. Marshals Service is the exception and may share one, for instance to help catch a fugitive.

It can, if this jail takes part. The state's WI VINE County Jails program costs nothing. It is operated by a DOC unit, the Office of Victim Services and Programs, with help from sheriffs and police. Victims use it, but so can anyone else:

• Search any name for current custody and the holding jail.
• Register for a notice that comes when the person is released or moved.
• Pick English, Spanish or Hmong. You never have to say who you are.

Use VINELink for Wisconsin or dial 888-944-8463. The Sheriff's website includes VINE material on its page for crime victims. Notices may trail real events, so for a same-day release, also open the roster and ring the jail at 715-273-1124.

The judge settles release at the first court appearance, which the law says must come "within a reasonable time." Wisconsin starts from freedom. Plenty leave with just a signature bond, owing nothing unless a court date is missed. Cash comes into play only to make sure the person returns, although with a violent charge the judge can weigh public safety as well.

• Bondsmen are illegal. Wis. Stat. 969.12 lets only an unpaid Wisconsin resident serve as surety. That leaves families paying every dollar of the cash amount themselves.
• Paying at the jail. The lobby kiosk at 555 West Overlook Drive, Ellsworth, WI 54011, or the Inmate Canteen website, will take it. A card payment tops out at $150 each time and $500 per day, and an $8.95 charge is added.
• Paying at the clerk. Go in person to the Clerk of Circuit Court, Room 202, 414 West Main Street, Ellsworth, WI 54011, 715-273-6741.
• Card from home. The jail sheet points to GovPayNet at govpaynow.com or 877-392-2455, which charges 8%. The clerk's own page names AllPaid at allpaid.com, location code 4033. Check with the clerk before you pick.
• Receipts matter. Should the case end in guilt, that deposit can be kept for fines, costs or restitution, even when a relative posted it.
• Bail review. Stuck in Ellsworth three days (72 hours) after that hearing because the terms are too steep? The law then requires the judge to reconsider.

The bail guide lays out each step, and the Wisconsin bail law overview adds the state rules.

Every roster entry shows the charges, the arresting agency and a status such as cash bond set, signature bond, probation hold or sentenced. You can read any Wisconsin law for free on the Legislature's statutes site.

The final charges come from the District Attorney once a complaint is filed, and they may differ from the arrest charges. That office sits at 414 West Main Street, Room 3, Ellsworth, WI 54011, and is reached through the courthouse at 715-273-3531. After filing, a name search on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access lists every count and where the case stands.

In the first courtroom appearance, often over video from Ellsworth, the judge tells the accused they may have counsel. Someone who can't cover a lawyer's fee is steered to the State Public Defender. The form takes around 15 minutes. This region's office is at 2100 O'Neil Rd, Suite 400, Hudson, WI 54016, 715-650-9777. When the defender says no, ask the judge if the county can appoint and pay for counsel.

• Families hiring privately can call the State Bar's referral service at 800-362-9082.
• A free phone clinic with volunteer lawyers is held the fourth Wednesday of every month from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. Book a spot with the clerk at 715-273-6741.
• Defense lawyers can have the jail register their number, which makes client calls free and unrecorded.

On the jail's information sheet, lobby visits are marked suspended, and video visits take their place. The basics:

• Open an account on inmatecanteen.com. You will need your full name, address, phone, a valid ID and a device with a camera for your photo. Staff approve or turn down each account and explain why.
• Each session from home costs the visitor 39 cents.
• Posted hours run 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., noon to 5:00 p.m. and 5:30 to 8:00 p.m., but Fridays are only 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. A few free short sessions are also listed for some evenings and weekend afternoons.
• One person per session. Others joining on screen can get the visit cut off, and staff monitor every session.
• Visitors under 18 join only with a parent or guardian.

Because the sheet is undated, confirm times at 715-273-1124. Our visiting guide adds advice for a first video visit.

Funds in a person's account cover canteen orders and phone minutes. You can add money two ways:

• Use the lobby kiosk at 555 West Overlook Drive, Ellsworth, WI 54011, which accepts cash or a credit card.
• Pay by credit card at inmatecanteen.com, where an $8.95 fee applies.

The jail sheet lists the Turnkey support line, 715-386-5700, for account trouble. Deposit tips are in our jail money guide; canteen items are covered in the commissary guide.

Each call runs 18 cents per minute for as long as 20 minutes. Calls draw on the person's account, and collect calls are off the table. You are allowed to ring the housing unit, though staff pass along messages only in emergencies.

Texts, email and video messages are handled through inmatecanteen.com as well. Calls other than a lawyer's can be recorded, and anything said about the case could be heard by others, so hold it for the defense lawyer. Our calling guide and messaging guide cover the details. The jail answers questions at 715-273-1124.

Copy this format:

Inmate's full name
Pierce County Jail
555 West Overlook Drive, PO Box 9, Ellsworth, WI 54011

• Print your name and complete return address on the outside. Letters without them are sent back.
• Leave out explicit photos, personal checks, property, stamps and envelopes.
• The jail's sample uses the person's name alone. Check with staff before adding a booking number.
• Staff may open and read ordinary letters. Legal mail is only lightly inspected, so a lawyer should phone the jail about marking it.

Questions go to 715-273-1124. Our mail guide has general tips.

The jail's information sheet does not explain how to pick up belongings. Phone 715-273-1124 ahead of any trip and ask who may collect them, what to bring and when to come. The Law Enforcement Center is at 555 West Overlook Drive, Ellsworth, WI 54011. The Sheriff's Office front office hours are 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, except legal holidays.

Wisconsin's jail rules put the Sheriff in charge of getting sick or injured prisoners treated, including mental health needs and urgent dental problems. Being broke never bars treatment. A health screening happens within two weeks of arrival.

If something is wrong, phone 715-273-1124 without delay. Share the medicines, their doses and the doctor's number. The person may also file a grievance, and the jail has to allow an appeal. Once a year, inspectors from the state's Office of Detention Facilities check the jail; their office is at 3099 East Washington Ave., Madison, WI 53704, 608-240-5000. If someone's life is in danger right now, dial 911.

Ask about one by calling Sheriff's dispatch, open 24 hours, at 715-273-5051. A free name search on Wisconsin Circuit Court Access may reveal a missed hearing; dispatch or the clerk can confirm whether a warrant came from it. To deal with a warrant, get a lawyer's advice and walk in to the jail, 555 West Overlook Drive, Ellsworth, WI 54011, or ask the clerk's office to get a new court date set. According to the jail sheet, certain warrants can be paid online through GovPayNet. Reach the Clerk of Circuit Court at 414 West Main Street, Room 202, Ellsworth, WI 54011, 715-273-6741.

Every criminal case here, from a misdemeanor to a felony, is heard by the circuit court at 414 West Main Street, Ellsworth, WI 54011. Two quick checks for the next date:

• Type the name into Wisconsin Circuit Court Access. Hearings and case status show at no cost.
• Phone the Clerk of Circuit Court, Room 202, at 715-273-6741 between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. on weekdays.

A felony defendant held on bail over $500 gets a preliminary hearing within 10 days; someone released waits up to 20 days. The court guide explains the whole process.

U.S. charges from Ellsworth, River Falls and Prescott land in Wisconsin's Western District, whose clerk sits at 120 N. Henry St., Room 320, Madison, WI 53703, 608-264-5156.

1. Within days of the arrest, a federal detention hearing is held under 18 U.S.C. 3142. It ends with either release on conditions or jail until trial.
2. The U.S. Marshals Service keeps pretrial federal prisoners, often in county jails. To find out where, call its office at 120 N. Henry St., Suite 440, Madison, WI 53703, 608-661-8300.
3. Federal Defender Services of Wisconsin is based at 22 East Mifflin Street, Suite 1000, Madison, WI 53703, 608-260-9900.
4. After a federal sentence, the person's prison shows up on the BOP prisoner locator, which takes a name search.

The steps tend to go in this order:

1. A detainer arrives at the Ellsworth jail on federal Form I-247A.
2. Its request: keep custody up to 48 hours after they would otherwise be released (8 CFR 287.7(d)).
3. Wisconsin falls under ICE's Chicago Field Office, 101 W. Ida B. Wells Dr., Suite 4000, Chicago, IL 60605, 872-351-3990.
4. For Wisconsin detainees, ICE has relied on the Dodge County Jail, 216 W. Center Street, Juneau, WI 53039, 920-386-3734. Others may be taken out of state.
5. Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator. An A-number from immigration papers is the best thing to have on hand.

To learn how this Sheriff's Office handles detainers, call 715-273-5051.

The Department of Corrections takes over. Intake and assessment come first and normally last 8 to 12 weeks. Staff then send the person to a prison matched to their needs and security level. Men just starting intake get no visits for three days.

• Once intake starts, the DOC Inmate and Offender Search can find them.
• For felonies committed after Dec. 31, 1999, there is no parole. They split into time behind bars, then a stretch of extended supervision once released.
• Our Wisconsin prisons guide explains visits, letters and deposits.

Teens who are 17 face adult court and the adult jail when charged with a crime, so the roster is the place to look.

Anyone 16 or younger is referred to juvenile intake at Human Services, Pierce County Office Building, 3rd Floor, 412 W. Kinne St., Ellsworth, WI 54011, 715-273-6766, open 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays. At night or on weekends, try Sheriff's dispatch, 715-273-5051.

• Secure detention requires a face-to-face intake interview first, except in a few narrow cases.
• Held youths are owed a custody hearing. That hearing comes within 24 hours, timed from midnight after the hold decision, skipping Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
• The state's list of county youth detention centers does not include one here. When secure custody is needed, the Northwest Regional Juvenile Detention Center, Government Center, 721 Oxford Ave., Suite 1001, Eau Claire, WI 54703, 715-839-2300, is one place they may go. Human Services can confirm.

Look at the roster: each charge names the agency behind it. By the state's count for Jan. 1, 2025, about 42,918 people call the county home. Departments working here:

• Sheriff's Office, 555 West Overlook Drive, Ellsworth, WI 54011. Round-the-clock dispatch: 715-273-5051. Tips: 715-273-3757. For Spring Valley and other villages and towns missing from this list, ask dispatch which agency made the arrest.
• River Falls Police Department, 2815 Prairie Dr., River Falls, WI 54022 (for its phone number, ask the Sheriff's dispatch line listed here)
• Prescott Police Department, 1601 Pine St, Prescott, WI 54021, 715-262-5512
• Ellsworth Police Department, 130 N. Chestnut Street, Ellsworth, WI 54011, 715-273-3275
• Elmwood Police Department, 323 W. Winter Street, Elmwood, WI 54740, 715-639-3121
• Wisconsin State Patrol, Eau Claire Post, 5005 U.S. Highway 53, Eau Claire, WI 54701, 715-839-3800