Mason Federal Release Routes
Federal and immigration custody matters only when a federal warrant, U.S. Marshals designation, BOP sentence, or immigration detainer changes the destination. A detainer is a legal hold or request by another authority. Western Regional Jail can record a person as released from WVDCR while transferring that person directly to another agency. The WVDCR event is accurate within its system, but it is not proof of entry into the community.
Choose the next source by custody type. BOP covers sentenced federal prisoners. ICE’s Online Detainee Locator covers qualifying immigration detainees. The U.S. Marshals Service manages many federal court movements, but no public nationwide former-detainee locator comparable to BOP was verified. The federal docket, case counsel, official USMS contacts, and receiving detention agency form the practical route for those cases.
Mason’s detention geography can make the first event look remote from the county. Western Regional Jail serves Mason from Cabell County, while Lakin is a statewide women’s prison within Mason County. A federal or immigration handoff can follow departure from either state route, but location alone does not establish that handoff. The WVDCR release or transfer entry must identify the event before the federal locator becomes the next step.
Check ICE Release Status
The ICE Online Detainee Locator searches adults currently in ICE custody and, according to ICE attorney resources, people released from ICE within the prior sixty days. It is not a permanent release archive. It does not search minors, and some recent arrivals or transfers may not appear at once.
Use one of the locator’s supported paths:
- For an A-number search, enter the exact nine-digit number, adding leading zeros when needed, and provide country of birth.
- For a biographical search, enter the exact offered name and birth information.
- Compare the returned identity and detention details before accepting a match.
- If a qualifying search fails, contact the appropriate ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations field office.
- For a released result, save the exact wording and date, then check whether another authority or court process applies.
An A-number is an immigration file number, not a BOP register number or WVDCR offender number. Search fields cannot be moved between systems. A missing ICE record outside the recent-release period proves little. It may also reflect spelling, identifier errors, excluded age, data timing, or a different custodian.
Note: ICE’s recent-release coverage is limited; an older immigration event may require agency records or case documentation.
Trace U.S. Marshals Releases
The U.S. Marshals Service may transport or hold a federal defendant before sentence, after a federal warrant, or during a court-directed movement. BOP’s locator is not a complete USMS pretrial locator. A person can be in federal custody without ever having a sentenced BOP record. Start with the federal court docket to confirm the case and the legal event.
No verified nationwide USMS public database lists former detainees or release dates. The defensible chain is the federal docket, the court order, case counsel, official USMS contacts, and the receiving detention agency. Real-time movement details may be withheld for safety. That limit should be stated plainly instead of filled with an unofficial tracker.
| Federal situation | Best first route |
|---|---|
| Sentenced federal prisoner | BOP Inmate Locator and federal docket |
| Immigration detention | ICE Online Detainee Locator and ERO field office |
| USMS pretrial or transport custody | Federal docket, case counsel, and official contacts |
| WVDCR release to federal hold | WVDCR release entry, then the named receiving agency |
Mason Release Detainer Handoffs
A Western Regional release record should be read for destination or receiving agency when that field is public. Terms such as transfer, detainer, federal custody, immigration custody, or released to other agency point away from a community release. Ask WVDCR for the admission and release entry with the release type, authority, date and time, and destination or receiving agency if disclosable.
The Mason court docket can show the state bond, dismissal, sentence, or order that ended the local custody basis. It cannot certify the precise federal pickup or later immigration status. Likewise, a federal warrant can explain the handoff without showing when physical transport occurred. The state event and federal event must be matched by identity, date, and agency.
- Detainer
- A hold or notice asking the current custodian to keep or transfer a person for another authority.
- Receiving agency
- The government body that accepts custody after the first agency’s release event.
- Community release
- Departure from physical confinement, though court or supervision duties may remain.
- Remand
- A court direction placing a person back into custody or under a stated authority.
Note: Ending one agency’s custody does not cancel a valid warrant, detainer, sentence, or supervision order from another.
Request Federal Release Records
Requests should stay with the agency that created the record. WVDCR holds the Western release and transfer entry. BOP holds sentenced federal prison records. ICE holds immigration detention and release information within its authority. Federal court clerks hold filed orders and dockets. A broad request sent to the wrong agency may produce a lawful “no records” response that says nothing about the other systems.
For WVDCR, provide the full name, aliases, date of birth or OIS number, Western Regional Jail, Mason County connection, and a narrow date range. Ask for release time, type, authority, and destination or receiving agency if public. For a federal request, use the agency’s own FOIA process and identifiers. Privacy and security rules may restrict movement, medical, victim, or third-party details.
The federal docket often supplies the most durable public explanation of a warrant, detention order, sentence, or supervised-release action. It is not a gate log. An agency event records physical custody within that agency. Keep both layers when timing and destination matter.
Separate BOP Release Records
BOP and USMS are related to federal justice but are not interchangeable. The BOP locator covers federal prisoners incarcerated from 1982 onward and can report “Released” or “Not in BOP Custody.” That wording is limited to BOP. It does not exclude ICE detention, state confinement, federal supervised release, or another justice system.
Search BOP by register number or by full name with its offered race, sex, and age filters. Compare the register number and release date. Then review the federal docket and U.S. Probation route if supervised release was ordered. A calculated release date can change, and a location change within BOP can be a transfer rather than a departure.
The Mason County released-inmate search and records process helps when the person’s system is uncertain. It begins with WVDCR for regional or state custody and moves to BOP or ICE only when the case facts support that route.
Federal Release Contact Paths
This Facility Map entry describes custody networks, not one building in Mason County. No street address or general phone can accurately stand in for every ICE detention site, USMS district, BOP prison, and ERO field office. Use the locator or court case to identify the responsible office before calling. That prevents disclosure requests from being sent to an agency with no custody role.
Federal and Immigration Custody
ICE Online Detainee Locator
BOP Inmate Locator
Federal court docket and case counsel
Appropriate ICE ERO or USMS office
When an ICE search fails despite exact data and a qualifying time frame, use the ICE field-office directory. When a USMS matter lacks a public locator, use the case’s federal district and official court information to identify the relevant office. Agencies may decline to disclose real-time movements. A records request can seek historical, segregable material without demanding current operational detail.
Verify Mason Federal Release
Build the custody timeline from the last confirmed state event. First, obtain the Western Regional release or transfer entry. Second, read the Mason or federal court order that explains the legal basis. Third, use the named receiving agency’s locator or records process. Finally, separate physical release from later supervision. This sequence can confirm what each authority did without assuming that silence in one portal means freedom.
A precise conclusion may say that WVDCR released the person to ICE, that ICE reports the person released within its locator window, that BOP reports the person not in BOP custody, or that a federal docket shows continuing supervision. Each sentence stays within the source’s boundary. Stronger claims require stronger records.
Federal and immigration status can be sensitive and fast-changing. Use exact names and identifiers, avoid guessing nationality or legal status, and do not infer guilt from an arrest or custody record. When no public route establishes the destination, state that the handoff could not be confirmed and use official agency or court channels.
Keep the dates attached to their agencies. A WVDCR release time marks the state handoff, an ICE result reports within ICE’s system, and a federal court entry records judicial action. Small gaps between those records do not justify guessing what occurred in transit.