What to do if…
you cannot find where a family member was taken after an arrest

What to do now

1. Write down the family member’s full legal name, date of birth, alternate names, approximate arrest time and place, and anything known about the arresting officers or agency. Keep any citation, case number, booking number, property receipt, or officer information.

2. Call the arresting agency using a number published on its official website or linked from the relevant government website. Ask whether the person is still with that agency, was released, was taken for medical assessment, or was transferred. Request the receiving agency or facility name and any available booking or identification number.

3. If you do not know the arresting agency, contact the police department, sheriff’s office, or other law-enforcement agency serving the place where the arrest occurred. Give the time and exact location and ask which agency handled the arrest.

4. Check the official jail or booking search for the city or county where the arrest happened. Search using the exact legal name and reasonable alternate spellings. A recent arrest or transfer may not appear immediately, so check again later while continuing to call official contacts.

5. Call the booking desk of the most likely city or county jail. Ask whether it has a current or pending booking under the person’s name and date of birth, and whether another facility may have received them.

6. If the state participates in VINE, check VINELink for available custody information. Treat it as an additional source rather than proof that the person is or is not in custody.

7. If you were told the matter is federal, contact the arresting federal agency and the local U.S. Marshals Service district office for the relevant federal court area. A newly arrested federal defendant may be held outside a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility, so also check the BOP inmate locator without relying on it alone.

8. If immigration detention may be involved, use the ICE Online Detainee Locator System and follow its identity-search fields. A missing result does not rule out recent custody, another agency’s custody, or a record that is not yet available there.

9. If an agency gives you a court name or case number, contact that court’s criminal clerk. Ask whether a filing or appearance is listed and which agency should be contacted about custody. Court staff may not have the person’s current location.

10. If the family member has an urgent medical or mental-health need, tell the arresting agency or confirmed facility what the concern is and ask that it be passed to the appropriate staff. Call 911 when you have a specific reason to believe there is an immediate life-threatening emergency.

11. Keep a call log recording the agency, official number, time, staff member’s name, and information provided. Start each next inquiry from the last confirmed agency or transfer.