Benzie County Release Meanings
A Benzie County release must name the agency whose custody ended. The Benzie County Sheriff may release a person on bond, recognizance, time served, sentence completion, dismissal, or another court-authorized outcome. That person may go back to the community. The Sheriff may instead transfer the person to the Michigan Department of Corrections, another county, a federal custodian, treatment placement, or an immigration authority. A transfer ends Benzie County Jail custody but does not end confinement.
State records use different terms. Parole means a person has left secure MDOC confinement under continued state supervision. Probation is a court sentence served in the community and may follow a county jail term. Discharge means the relevant MDOC term and supervision have ended. Bond only authorizes pretrial release while the criminal case continues. Time served means the court has credited the custodial part of a sentence as complete, though another hold can still control the next destination.
A name leaving Benzie County custody can mean community release or transfer. Confirm the disposition before describing what happened.
Benzie County Release Types
The release type explains what ended and what remains. A booking record without a disposition cannot make that distinction. The Sheriff release entry and the court order should be read together when the legal basis and physical exit time both matter.
| Release entry | What it means | Best confirming record |
|---|---|---|
| Bond or recognizance | Pretrial custody ends after staff complete the order; the case remains open. | District court order plus Sheriff release entry |
| Time served or completion | The credited county custodial term has been met, subject to other holds. | Judgment and jail calculation or release form |
| Probation | A court-controlled community sentence begins or continues. | Court judgment and correct probation office |
| Parole | Secure MDOC confinement ends, but state supervision continues. | OTIS current status and Date Paroled |
| Transfer | Benzie custody ends because another agency takes control. | Release form naming the receiving authority |
| Discharge | The named agency's sentence or supervision authority ends. | MDOC profile or disclosable discharge record |
Death in custody is neither release nor transfer. Escape is also a distinct status. Juvenile, sealed, suppressed, and set-aside records may be restricted or absent from public searches, so a missing result cannot be reversed into proof that no Benzie County booking or release occurred.
Benzie Release Record Fields
A useful Benzie County release record identifies the person, the booking, the custodian, the time custody ended, and the next disposition. Michigan General Schedule 11 confirms that a county jail inmate jacket may hold intake records, booking cards, mug shots, sentence records, property-release records, prison-transfer documents, bonds, warrants, and inmate release forms. Benzie does not publish a public online schema, so a focused request should name the fields needed.
| Field | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Full name and stable identifier | Separates the correct person from a namesake; the identifier may be a booking, case, or MDOC number. |
| Booking date and time | Defines the local custody event tied to the request. |
| Release date and time | Marks when the named agency's custody ended. |
| Release type or disposition | Distinguishes bond, time served, probation, completion, parole, or transfer. |
| Destination or receiving agency | Shows whether the person returned to the community or entered another custody system, when recorded and disclosable. |
| Bond and release form | Connects the authorization, conditions, and physical processing record. |
Inmate jackets are retained for release plus ten years under item 11.210 of the Michigan law-enforcement records schedule. Daily count summaries that may name people processed or released have a shorter calendar-year-end plus one-year period. A web result may never exist, yet the source record may remain available for years.
Note: Retention means the record should be kept for a period; it does not guarantee public disclosure without lawful redaction.
Request Benzie Release Records
The Benzie Sheriff FOIA page accepts requests in writing, by email, fax, or in person. Jail records should go to the Sheriff coordinator, not the separate general county coordinator. A request does not have to use the county form, but it must describe an existing public record well enough for staff to find it. Ask for electronic copies when useful and give a tight booking date or date range.
- Identify the person by full name and another known identifier. State the approximate Benzie County Jail booking date.
- Request the booking and release record, including the release form, release timestamp, disposition, bond entry, and receiving agency if recorded and disclosable.
- Send it to Sheriff FOIA Coordinator LEvans@BenzieCo.Gov, fax 231-882-5814, or deliver it to 505 S. Michigan Avenue, Beulah, MI 49617.
- Allow the Michigan FOIA response period. Benzie says most requests are completed within the allotted five-business-day framework, though a search can require an extension.
- Review any fee estimate or partial denial. No flat Benzie release-record price is published, so the actual response controls.
Michigan FOIA, MCL 15.231 et seq., permits a grant, denial, partial grant, clarification request, or lawful fee estimate. One ten-business-day extension may follow the initial five-business-day response period. Privacy, investigation, security, and juvenile limits may require redaction. Ask for the actual release entry, not an explanation that staff would have to create.
For state records, use the MDOC FOIA process. Supply the full name, MDOC number, birth date if known, and date range. The public may request a basic parole, release, or discharge record when disclosable, but MDOC's larger PENPACK is limited to recognized criminal-justice authorities.
Bond and Benzie Release Timing
No official Benzie page publishes a bond schedule, posting vendor, or release-processing timetable. A bond or recognizance order shows that pretrial release was authorized. It does not prove that jail staff finished the release, that another hold was cleared, or that the charges ended. The case continues until the court resolves it.
Check the 85th District Court record for local bond and arraignment activity, then call the jail for the person's physical custody status. The release entry supplies the actual exit time and disposition. If the entry names another custodian, follow that agency rather than treating the bond order as proof of return to the community.
Courts Behind Benzie Release Records
Benzie has a split court path. The 85th District Court handles misdemeanor criminal matters, arraignments, and preliminary stages of felony cases. The 19th Judicial Circuit Court handles felony dispositions and sentences across Benzie and Manistee Counties. A search must use the right level and confirm that the case belongs to Benzie.
Docket events can show bond orders, dismissals, pleas, verdicts, sentences, probation, and later violations. They explain the legal cause for a custody change. They do not certify when jail staff completed the physical release. MiCOURT also warns that online information is not the official court record and that some suppressed or nonpublic matters do not appear.
The Benzie and Manistee MiCOURT portal shows the circuit search route used for felony case events.
Compare the case number, party, court, and disposition, then pair the docket with the Benzie Sheriff release form for the physical exit.
Benzie Release Records After Set-Aside
Michigan Clean Slate rules can change what appears in a public search. Automatic set-aside began in 2023 for eligible records after the applicable statutory waiting period, subject to offense and number limits. MDOC says a qualifying court or automatic set-aside can remove an OTIS entry before its ordinary post-discharge display period ends.
Set-aside is not proof that every old booking record, release form, or outside copy has vanished. The sentencing court and Michigan State Police control the legal effect for the case. A sealed, suppressed, juvenile, or set-aside result must be treated as an access limit, not as evidence that the Benzie County custody event never happened.
Find Benzie County Released Inmates
The search begins at the last known custodian. Benzie County publishes no official current-inmate roster, recent-release archive, 24-hour feed, or 72-hour feed. Start by calling the Benzie County Jail at 231-882-4484. Ask whether the person remains in local custody and whether a departure was a community release or a transfer. Telephone disclosure may be limited, so obtain the release record when durable proof is needed.
- Confirm the full name and one more identifier. Call the jail for the immediate county status.
- Check the correct district or circuit case for the bond, dismissal, sentence, or probation order.
- File a narrow Sheriff FOIA request for the release timestamp, type, form, and receiving agency.
- If the record says MDOC transfer, search OTIS. If it names another county, federal authority, or ICE, move to that receiving system.
- Use MI-VINE for an agency-supplied status or future notice when the live Michigan search confirms an applicable record.
A released person normally disappears from a live jail roster. Benzie has no verified public roster, so phone and record channels carry the local inquiry.
The Benzie County Jail release page gives the facility-specific contact and record path. A person sentenced only to this county jail will not appear in OTIS. That blank result is expected and should not end the search.
OTIS for Benzie State Releases
The MDOC OTIS information page defines the state system's scope. OTIS covers Michigan prisoners, parolees, felony probationers under MDOC supervision, and discharged people within three years after supervision discharge. It excludes people sentenced only to county jail, people not yet sentenced, exempt records, and most people beyond that display period.
The live search works best with an MDOC number. A name search needs careful comparison of identity, offense, sentencing court, and sentence fields. Open the record and read current status first. “Parole” means the person is in the community under state supervision. “Discharged” means MDOC authority has ended. Date Paroled is stronger evidence of the prison-to-parole event than a favorable Board decision.
| OTIS field | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Current status | Shows prisoner, parole, probation, absconder, or discharged status within OTIS scope. |
| Earliest Release Date | Marks the first parole-jurisdiction point in an eligible case, not a promised exit. |
| Maximum Discharge Date | Shows the sentence endpoint if parole does not occur earlier, subject to lawful recalculation. |
| Date Paroled | Supports the actual move from secure prison custody to parole supervision. |
| Supervision information | Identifies the office or status for an applicable parole or felony probation case. |
The live OTIS search displays these Michigan offender fields.
Read the status beside the date labels. OTIS is a public snapshot, not a certified Benzie County release certificate.
Benzie Reentry After Release
The Benzie Corrections Division mission refers to preparing people for reentry, but the official county material does not name a local benefit or guaranteed program. For a person under MDOC parole or felony probation, ask the supervising agent about eligible offender-success services. Availability varies by need, status, and location.
The Benzie County MDOC Parole/Probation Office is at 448 Court Place in Beulah and can clarify state supervision tied to an OTIS record. District-court probation is different and uses the 85th District Court contact. The Benzie post-release supervision page separates parole, state felony probation, and local district probation without treating any of them as continued jail custody.
- Parole
- Community supervision after a Michigan prison term.
- Probation
- A court sentence served in the community, sometimes after county jail time.
- Discharge
- The formal end of the named supervision or sentence authority.
- Absconder
- A person still under supervision whose reporting or whereabouts are unresolved.
Benzie Release Alerts and Transfers
MI-VINE is Michigan's free, confidential notification service. It can relay agency-supplied events such as release, transfer, escape, and certain court changes. Official material covers MDOC and participating county jails, but it does not specifically confirm current Benzie County Jail participation. Select Michigan in the live system or call 800-770-7657 before relying on local coverage.
An alert must be read by event type. RegistrationLink can carry a notification registration as a person moves between county and state custody, which helps reduce gaps. That same continuity makes “transfer” easy to confuse with “release.” A one-person VINE check can also support notification registration and its PIN process.
For federal custody, use the BOP Inmate Locator only when the case is federal. A result of “Released” or “Not in BOP Custody” ends only the BOP portion of the inquiry. ICE ODLS covers current detention and certain people released from ICE custody within the prior 60 days. Leaving Benzie for ICE is a transfer, not a local community release. The U.S. Marshals Service has no equivalent public person locator for its pretrial custody.
Benzie Release Search Boundaries
No single search covers every Benzie County release. Match the record to the agency and to the question being asked. A current-custody source shows who is held now. A release form records the end of a local booking. A court docket explains the legal order. OTIS covers MDOC custody and supervision, while BOP and ICE cover separate federal systems.
| Situation | First source | What confirms the result |
|---|---|---|
| Possible Benzie jail release | Call the Sheriff | Release form with time and disposition |
| Possible MDOC transfer or parole | OTIS | Current status, Date Paroled, or discharge record |
| Order caused custody change | 85th District or 19th Circuit | Official court file paired with the Sheriff entry |
| Federal prison release | BOP locator | Released status/date plus check for other custody |
| Immigration transfer or recent exit | ICE ODLS | ICE result or information-line confirmation |
Why is a person absent everywhere? Spelling, upload delay, transfer, a jail-only case, aged-out display, set-aside, or restricted data can each cause a blank result. Use a second source and do not infer release from silence.
Getting Home After Benzie Release
Benzie Bus offers curb-to-curb reserved rides, not a documented fixed jail stop. The official ride-reservation page asks riders to reserve at least one hour ahead by phone, text, or email and gives a pickup window. The service lists no Sunday operation. Family should confirm both the actual release time and a safe pickup point with jail staff.
The jail is not documented as arranging or paying for the trip. No official source identifies a family waiting area or says where a person physically exits. Treat those details as questions for staff. A court order or estimated time should not be used to schedule a tight connection because another hold and jail processing can delay the actual release.
Benzie Jail History and Releases
The official Benzie jail history traces local custody from early Honor and Beulah buildings to a 12-bed jail built in 1959, late-1980s crowding and boarding, a 1989 millage, and groundbreaking for the present direct-supervision facility in 1990. It states a maximum capacity of 47 and an area of about 19,000 square feet.
The history helps explain why transfer is a meaningful status, but it is not proof of a current overflow, trustee, work-release, or release-time policy. Current confirmation still comes from the Sheriff, court, and receiving custodian. Historical capacity is not an annual release count and should never be used to estimate turnover.
The official page documents the facility background shown below.
Its local history adds context while leaving present release procedures to the current corrections office.
Benzie County Release Facility
The Facility Map contains one locally documented detention facility: Benzie County Jail, operated by the Sheriff's Office at the Law Enforcement Center in Beulah. No MDOC prison, federal prison, or ICE detention center was identified within Benzie County. State, federal, and immigration systems remain relevant only when a Benzie case moves into their separate custody.
A person may leave the jail for the community after bond, recognizance, time served, sentence completion, or another court outcome. The person may also leave for MDOC, another county, a federal authority, treatment placement, or immigration custody. The facility record must name which route applies.