Monroe County Release Records Explained
A release is an administrative custody event. It is not merely a missing name on a live roster. For most local arrests, the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or WVDCR, keeps the regional-jail booking and movement record. The Monroe County Sheriff may retain the arrest report, transport log, property record, or a photograph made by that office. A Magistrate or Circuit Court order supplies the legal reason for bond, dismissal, a sentence, jail credit, probation, or another disposition.
These records answer different questions. The signed order shows what a court authorized. The jail release sheet shows when staff carried out the event. A WVDCR time sheet explains how a state sentence was computed. VINE shows a reported notification event. When dates conflict, keep each label and source instead of choosing one date without proof.
- Discharge
- The applicable custodial sentence has reached its end, though another case or duty may remain.
- Time served
- A sentence or credit decision allows custody to end based on time already spent confined.
- Detainer
- A request from another authority that can prevent release to the community.
- Parole
- Conditional release from imprisonment followed by WVDCR supervision.
Monroe County Inmate Release Types
The word “released” can hide a major legal difference. A person may walk out to the community, move to another jail, enter state prison, or be taken by a federal agency. The final movement code and destination are therefore as important as the release time.
| Release or movement | Meaning | Best next record |
|---|---|---|
| Bond or recognizance | The jail hold ends while the case continues. | Court bond order and SRJCF release sheet |
| Time served or expiration | The credited or calculated custodial term ends. | Sentencing order, time sheet, and discharge record |
| Parole or mandatory supervision | Physical confinement ends while supervision continues. | Board decision, gate release, and WVDCR supervision record |
| Dismissal | A charge ends, but another hold may still exist. | Signed court order and movement record |
| Transfer | Custody changes hands and does not end. | Movement history and destination agency |
| Escape or absconding | The departure or supervision failure is not a lawful discharge. | WVDCR status and direct agency confirmation |
A death in custody also ends physical custody, but it must not be grouped casually with community releases. Official custody and death records should be handled with care.
Fields in Monroe County Release Records
A final booking or release summary may contain more detail than a public search screen. Not every record exposes every field, and protected details may be withheld. A focused request should name the admission and the fields that explain what happened.
| Field | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Name, aliases, offender or booking number | Identity and the record used for the custody event |
| Booking date and facility | When and where the admission began |
| Agency, charge, and case number | The authority and court matter tied to custody |
| Bond, sentence, and jail credit | Terms that may affect when confinement ends |
| Release date and time | When staff recorded the movement |
| Release type, authority, and destination | Why the event occurred and whether custody transferred |
| Supervision status | Whether parole, probation, or another condition may continue |
Public-web visibility is separate from agency retention. No official source reviewed states how long a released SRJCF entry remains online. A disappearing result cannot establish the release time, and an old image cannot establish present status.
Request Monroe County Release Records
West Virginia FOIA provides access to nonexempt records held by public bodies. For an SRJCF booking, movement, jail photograph, or release sheet, begin with the WVDCR policy and records channels. Ask the Sheriff only for records it created, such as an arrest or transport file. Signed judicial orders come from the proper court clerk under court access rules.
- Identify the person with a name plus a safe second identifier, the facility, and a narrow date range.
- Request the final booking and release summary, movement history, release code definition, authority, destination, and retained photograph as separate items.
- Ask for electronic copies and a cost estimate before copies are made.
- Request segregable nonexempt parts and the legal basis for any withheld portion.
- Keep the response, URL, and date checked so a later correction can be traced.
Under W. Va. Code §29B-1-3, the public body generally must act as soon as practicable and within five business days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, by providing access, giving an availability date, or denying the request with reasons. Actual reproduction costs may apply, but the research found no verified Monroe release-record fee schedule. Ask first.
A narrow request for the event record is more useful than a broad demand for every file about a person.
Monroe Release Records and Expungement
The West Virginia Freedom of Information Act does not make every part of an offender file public. Law-enforcement, medical, personal, juvenile, security-sensitive, sealed, and expunged material may require redaction or withholding under applicable law. WVDCR policy 142.00 governs the release of information from offender records, while its policy index also identifies records-management and offender-record rules.
West Virginia Code §61-11-26 sets fact-specific rules for expunging certain convictions and records. It does not promise that every booking, dismissal, acquittal, photograph, misdemeanor, or felony can be erased. A blank search result is not proof of expungement. Obtain the governing order or lawful confirmation.
Monroe Bond Release Needs Two Records
A Monroe County bond release is best verified in two layers. The Magistrate or Circuit Court docket supplies the judicial bond or release order. SRJCF supplies the time when staff carried it out. Under W. Va. Code §62-1C-1a, covered pretrial decisions emphasize the least restrictive conditions reasonably needed, subject to offense-specific limits.
Bond does not end the criminal case. It is not an acquittal or a sentence discharge. Another detainer can also keep the person confined after a Monroe court permits bond. Report the court order, the executed movement, and any destination as separate facts.
Find Monroe County Released Inmates
Begin by classifying the system. A Monroe arrest ordinarily points to the WVDCR jail search and Southern Regional Jail. A state prison sentence points to the separate WVDCR prison search. Federal Prison Camp Alderson uses the Bureau of Prisons locator. A possible immigration transfer requires ICE’s locator. This choice prevents many false no-result conclusions.
- Search the WVDCR jail side with the exact surname and reasonable variants. Save the time, facility, and exact status shown.
- If no current jail result appears, check Daily Incarcerations only for a recent custody trace. It is not a release list.
- Search the prison side to test whether SRJCF transferred the person into state custody.
- Check the correct Magistrate and Circuit Court paths for bond, dismissal, sentence, jail credit, or later orders.
- Check VINE for the correct person and agency, then confirm an urgent result with WVDCR.
- Use BOP or ICE when the case changed to a federal or immigration lane.
- Request the final release or movement record when public screens do not resolve the event.
A released person usually leaves the live jail roster. A missing name is a lead, not proof of release to the community.
Use two sources for a firm conclusion: one custody record plus one legal or supervisory source. A person-specific release search belongs here; a same-day interval check uses the Monroe County 24-hour release process.
WVDCR Monroe Release Search Paths
The WVDCR offender-search gateway separates Daily Incarcerations, jail search, prison search, and Escapees and Absconders. These are not interchangeable. The jail search is mainly a present-custody tool for regional jails. The prison search covers sentenced state prisoners. An escapee or absconder status must never be treated as a routine release.
| Official tool | Search or visible fields | What it can establish |
|---|---|---|
| Jail offender search | Name, identity clues, institution, booking and charge details when shown | Whether WVDCR reports current regional-jail custody |
| Daily Incarcerations | Date, institution, or sentencing-county views | A snapshot or admission trail, not a release interval |
| Prison offender search | Name or identifier, status, institution, sentence data, photo when available | A state-prison status clue and correct custodian |
| Escapees and Absconders | Agency status information | A warning that absence from ordinary custody is not lawful discharge |
The official gateway can be reviewed in the image below. It helps distinguish the four state search lanes before a name is entered.
Open the WVDCR offender-search gateway to confirm the live choices and warnings.

The gateway’s labels show why Daily Incarcerations cannot be renamed as a list of people released today.
Why Monroe Releases Start Outside County
Southern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility is in Beaver, Raleigh County, yet its official facility page expressly lists Monroe among seven counties served. WVDCR opened the state-run regional facility in 1994. That geography explains why a search on only the Monroe County government site can miss the core jail record.
The facility’s public page lists 1200 Airport Road, Beaver, WV 25813 and 304-256-6726 as the main telephone. It does not publish release hours, an exit location, a property-return process, weekend processing rules, or a recent-release feed. Call before travel, because a court order, another hold, or facility processing may change the actual gate time.
Monroe Release Orders Cross Courts
Monroe cases cross two online court paths. The West Virginia Judiciary court-record page links separate Circuit and Magistrate searches, and Monroe belongs to the Thirtieth Judicial Circuit with Summers County. Magistrate Court may hold the first appearance, bail decision, misdemeanor action, or felony preliminary proceeding. Circuit Court may hold a later felony disposition, sentence, credit order, or amendment.
Search both levels and read entries in time order. The document that legally explains release may not be in the same system as the final case outcome. The statewide access choices shown below make that split clear.
Open the Judiciary’s court-record access page before selecting the correct Monroe search.

The court record explains authority and disposition, while the jail movement record supplies the physical release time.
Monroe Release Alerts and Supervision
West Virginia VINELink supports a person-specific status check and registration for participating custody events. Match the correct person with more than a photograph, select the SRJCF or WVDCR agency record, and preserve the exact event term and update time. A VINE release event does not prove that a case was dismissed, all supervision ended, or no other agency took custody.
Parole and probation follow different paths. The West Virginia Parole Board makes parole decisions, while WVDCR Parole Services supervises parolees. Court probation is ordered and routed through the Judiciary. Monroe is assigned to WVDCR’s Princeton Parole Office in Southern District Region 4. A full comparison and verification path appears on the Monroe County post-release supervision page.
Federal Releases Near Monroe County
FPC Alderson makes the federal branch unusually important. A person released from the minimum-security federal camp will not be proven through the WVDCR jail or prison searches. Use the BOP Inmate Locator, preferably with a register number. A labeled “Released On” date is evidence that BOP reports release from its custody, not proof that federal supervised release or another authority has ended.
The federal judgment and later orders are found through the federal court docket or clerk. ICE custody after a criminal release must be checked separately through the Online Detainee Locator. A movement from BOP or SRJCF to ICE is a transfer, not release to the community.
View the official BOP locator shown in this reference image.

The federal locator is a separate evidence lane from every Monroe County and WVDCR search.
Released or Confined in Monroe County
Choose the source based on the question being asked. A current roster addresses confinement now. A release sheet addresses a past event. A court order explains why the event was authorized. A supervision record addresses continuing control after the gate opens.
| Question | County or state source | Federal source |
|---|---|---|
| Currently confined? | WVDCR jail or prison search, then direct confirmation | BOP locator or ICE ODLS |
| Was release reported? | SRJCF/WVDCR release record or VINE event | BOP “Released On” result or agency record |
| Why did custody end? | Magistrate or Circuit order, time sheet, or Board decision | Federal judgment and BOP record |
| Does supervision continue? | Court probation or WVDCR Parole Services | U.S. Probation |
Can a photograph prove identity? No. Match at least two other identifiers, such as an offender number, case number, middle name, age, booking date, or facility. A photograph is only a supporting clue.
Monroe County Release Record Facilities
Each Monroe-connected system creates a different part of the release trail. Use the page that matches the custodian, not merely the closest building.
- Southern Regional Jail and Correctional Facility holds Monroe regional-jail detainees and keeps the jail movement event.
- Monroe County Sheriff’s Office may keep local arrest, transport, property, and incident records.
- West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation keeps statewide prison, sentence, and discharge records.
- Federal Prison Camp Alderson uses BOP records and federal supervision channels.
- Monroe County Circuit and Magistrate Courts keep bond, disposition, sentence, probation, and expungement orders.
These five sources form the full local map. None should be substituted for another.