Start With Big Stone County Records
The first Big Stone County inmate records contact is the Big Stone County Sheriff's Department. The sheriff is the local arrest and records agency, even though no Big Stone County jail building or public county roster was located in the official materials reviewed. The Minnesota DOC regional jail consolidation study identifies Big Stone County as a county that does not have a jail facility. That single fact changes the lookup path.
For a recent arrest, call the sheriff before assuming that a person is in Ortonville. The office can explain whether the person was released, sent to court, transferred to a nearby county jail, or connected to a warrant or jail pay-to-stay issue. If the sheriff holds the record but no public roster displays it, Big Stone County's data practices policy allows a written request by mail, fax, or email to the proper county data contact.
Big Stone County Sheriff's Department
11 SE 2nd Street, Suite 101
Ortonville, MN 56278
(320) 839-3558
Monday-Friday 7:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 8:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m.; weekend hours may vary.
Search Big Stone County Jail Records
A Big Stone County jail roster was not located, so the practical search works as a chain. Each step checks a different record system. County jail records cover booking and short-term custody. Court records show the charges filed after arrest. State and federal locators cover people who have moved out of county custody.
- Call the Big Stone County Sheriff's Department to ask where the person was routed after the arrest.
- Open the Traverse County inmate roster page if the sheriff mentions Traverse County or if the person may be held for another agency.
- Check the Lac qui Parle County in-custody list for a public web roster with booking and bond fields.
- Search Minnesota VINE for custody status and notification options when the housing facility is unclear.
- Use the Minnesota DOC Locator for adults sentenced to the Commissioner of Corrections, including people still on DOC supervision.
- Use the BOP Inmate Locator or ICE Online Detainee Locator System only for federal or immigration custody.
No official Big Stone County sheriff mobile app was located. The official county site, the sheriff phone line, nearby jail rosters, VINE, MCRO, MNDOC, BOP, and ICE are the documented channels.
Big Stone County Booking and Holds
Booking begins with the arrest, but the full jail intake may happen outside Big Stone County. A deputy or other officer records public arrest data such as the time, date, place, legal basis for arrest, and identifying details. The person may then be released, taken to court, or transferred to a receiving jail. The receiving jail creates the booking number, photo, intake time, search and screening records, charge display, bond fields, and housing entry.
Hold language is important in a routed county. Traverse County sample records showed labels such as Bench Warrant and Holding for Another Agency. Lac qui Parle sample records showed status text such as remanded, sentenced, and court/pending. A detainer means another agency has placed a hold or notice. Paying one bond may not release the person if another county, DOC, federal agency, or immigration agency still has a hold.
The sheriff's online-payment page lists warrant payment and jail pay-to-stay fees, with processing and transaction fees noted. It did not provide a complete local bail-window schedule. Before paying, confirm the court that set the amount, the holding jail that will accept payment, and whether any other hold remains. A roster bond field is useful, but it is not a release guarantee.
Big Stone County Roster Fields
Because Big Stone County has no located public jail roster, the most useful roster fields come from the two nearby official systems that may hold Big Stone County arrestees. The Traverse County roster is a PDF, not a search form. Lac qui Parle uses a public HTML in-custody list. Neither is a Big Stone-only database, so a name match should be confirmed with the holding jail or the sheriff.
| System | Field Label | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Traverse County roster PDF | Front Mugshot | Image column | Shows whether a front booking image appears in the PDF. |
| Traverse County roster PDF | Last, First Middle Name | Roster text | Some entries include an address line under the name. |
| Traverse County roster PDF | Booking Date | Date | Observed in MM/DD/YY format. |
| Traverse County roster PDF | Held For | Status | Examples included Bench Warrant and Holding for Another Agency. |
| Lac qui Parle in-custody list | Photo, MNI, Name | Image and text | MNI means Master Name Index, a local identifier. |
| Lac qui Parle in-custody list | Booking # and Intake Date | Number and date/time | Shows jail-created booking data for the custody event. |
| Lac qui Parle in-custody list | Charges and Bail\Bond | Text and currency/status | May show charge level, statute, amount, conditions, bail received, and bond received. |
Big Stone County Inmate Profile Fields
A sample Big Stone County inmate profile cannot be drawn from a local roster that was not found. The field inventory below reflects the official Traverse County and Lac qui Parle records that may house nearby-agency detainees. These fields help separate identity, custody status, court-related hold details, and bond information.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Mugshot or photo | Traverse has a Front Mugshot column, and Lac qui Parle has a Photo column. |
| Name and age | Basic identity fields used to distinguish similar names. |
| MNI or booking number | Local jail identifiers for a person or a booking event. |
| Booking or intake date | The date, and sometimes time, the receiving jail entered the custody record. |
| Held-for status | Shows a warrant, another-agency hold, remand, sentenced status, or court-pending status when entered. |
| Charges | May include Minnesota statute citations and short charge descriptions. |
| Bail or bond | May show a cash or surety amount, conditions, and whether bail or bond has been received. |
| Sentence end date | Appears as a Traverse County column and is often blank unless the entry is serving a sentence. |
The Lac qui Parle custody list is a useful visual example of a nearby public roster:
The photo, MNI, booking number, intake date, charge, and bond columns show why a housing-jail roster may be more detailed than a county sheriff contact page.
Big Stone County Visitation Records
Big Stone County does not have a located jail visitation schedule because no local jail facility was found. Visits, mail, commissary, phone calls, and deposits follow the rules of the actual housing jail. Call before driving or sending funds, because a person arrested in Big Stone County may be housed in Wheaton, Madison, another county, or a state facility after sentencing.
| Facility or Agency | Visitation or Contact Detail | Use This For |
|---|---|---|
| Big Stone County Sheriff's Office | Not a jail visiting location; call (320) 839-3558 for routing. | Arrest routing, local records, warrant and payment questions. |
| Traverse County Jail | Public roster located; official visitation schedule was not located in the reviewed sources. | Confirm custody first, then call the jail before travel or deposits. |
| Lac qui Parle County Jail | Tuesday-Thursday 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.; Friday 7:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m. | Visits for people housed at the Madison jail. |
| Minnesota DOC facilities | Use DOC facility visiting rules and approved visitor procedures. | Sentenced prison custody, not county jail custody. |
Big Stone County Jail vs DOC
The county roster path and the state prison path answer different questions. A person booked after a Big Stone County arrest may first appear in a nearby county jail list or in VINE. After sentencing to the Commissioner of Corrections, the county roster is no longer the main tool. The MNDOC locator covers adults still under DOC jurisdiction, including people in prison and people released from prison but still under supervision.
The Minnesota DOC search page links the public locator, fugitives, registrants, and Minnesota Haven notifications:
DOC results can lag for newly sentenced people, so a recent conviction may require a court check, a county jail check, and then a later DOC search.
| Custody Type | Where to Look | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Big Stone County arrest or current jail hold | Sheriff, Traverse roster, Lac qui Parle roster, VINE | Booking route, current custody, holds, bail fields, and release alerts. |
| Sentenced Minnesota prisoner | Minnesota DOC Locator | Adults committed to DOC who remain in prison or under DOC supervision. |
| Federal prisoner | BOP Inmate Locator | Federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to the present. |
| Immigration detainee | ICE ODLS | Immigration detention, separate from county jail and MNDOC custody. |
Request Big Stone County Booking Records
If no roster shows the person, a written public-data request may be the next step. Minnesota's public-data rules make many arrest data elements public at the originating law-enforcement agency, but jail custody data may sit with the receiving jail. Ask for the person by full name, date of birth if known, arrest date, case number if known, and the specific data needed. Avoid asking for every file connected to a person when one booking record, arrest data entry, or custody-transfer note will answer the question.
Mail, phone, commissary, and video-visit rules follow the jail that has the person, not the county where the arrest began. No Big Stone County jail mail format, phone vendor, tablet vendor, commissary vendor, or deposit fee schedule was located. For Traverse County custody, confirm the correct mailing and money rules with Traverse before sending anything. For Lac qui Parle custody, call the jail and follow the posted sheriff's office guidance. For DOC custody, county jail mail rules no longer apply.
For court charges filed after booking, use Big Stone County court records after jail arrest. For the photo side of a roster entry, use Big Stone County jail roster mugshots. The court file and the jail profile may not match word for word because a roster can show arrest charges, warrants, or hold language before the prosecutor files or amends charges.
Note: Confirm the actual housing facility before sending money, mailing property, or traveling for a visit.