Understanding Clare County Jail Releases
A release from Clare County Jail means the sheriff stopped holding the person under that booking. It does not always mean the person walked into the community. The jail may release someone after bond, time served, completion of a jail term, dismissal, or another court order. It may also transfer a person to the Michigan Department of Corrections, another county, federal authorities, or another agency with a valid hold. Those events all end Clare County custody, but only some end confinement.
The physical release entry belongs to the Clare County Sheriff’s Office. The legal reason often appears in the 80th District Court or 55th Circuit Court case. State prison, parole, and felony probation facts belong to the Michigan Department of Corrections, or MDOC. A person who has left the jail will normally disappear from any current-custody view. Since Clare County publishes neither a live roster nor a release archive, a missing online name proves nothing by itself. Confirmation requires the record owner.
- Release
- The end of custody at a named facility, either into the community or to another authority.
- Time served
- A court disposition that credits time already spent in custody toward the ordered jail term.
- Parole
- Release from state prison while the sentence continues under MDOC supervision.
- Discharge
- The end of MDOC authority over the sentence shown in the state record.
- Detainer
- A request or legal basis for another agency to take or continue custody.
Clare County Release Types
The sheriff has not published a field dictionary for its booking system. The terms below describe the events a requester should investigate, not promised Clare County software labels. The responsive release record supplies the exact wording. A court order can explain why release was authorized, while the jail entry is the better source for when physical custody ended.
| Possible event | What it means | Where to verify next |
|---|---|---|
| Bond | Pretrial release after the required bond terms were met. | Jail release entry plus the 80th District Court case. |
| Time served or sentence end | The court credited prior custody or the county jail term ended. | Jail record and the sentencing court judgment. |
| Dismissal or court release | That case no longer supplied a basis to hold the person. | Court Register of Actions and jail record, since another hold may remain. |
| MDOC commitment | The person left county custody for state prison intake. | OTIS after MDOC accepts and enters the person. |
| Other-agency transfer | Another county, federal agency, or custodial body received the person. | The destination named in the release record. |
| Parole or discharge | A state prisoner left confinement for supervision, or MDOC authority ended. | OTIS and, for parole, the listed supervision office. |
Probation is different. A court imposes probation as a sentence and keeps authority over it. A person released on bond is not automatically on probation, and a county jail transfer to MDOC is not parole. Reading these terms as separate events prevents a Clare County jail departure from being mistaken for unrestricted release.
Fields in Clare Release Records
A precise request should identify the known booking and name each needed field. Asking only for an “inmate record” may produce an arrest report without the departure detail. Clare County does not promise that every field exists or can be disclosed. Still, the field inventory gives the Records Division enough detail to locate the right booking and separate physical release from court disposition.
| Requested field | What it can show |
|---|---|
| Full name and date of birth | Connects the request to the correct person and helps prevent a same-name mismatch. |
| Booking number and date | Ties the release entry to one period of Clare County Jail custody. |
| Actual release date and time | Shows when the jail recorded the end of that custody episode. |
| Release or disposition code | May state the recorded manner of departure; ask for the code’s meaning. |
| Destination or receiving agency | Distinguishes community release from transfer to continued custody. |
| Bond and charge entries | Links the booking to the case and may explain a pretrial release. |
| Court order or mittimus | May identify the authority received by the jail. A mittimus is a court order directing custody or commitment. |
| Booking photograph | Requests the image as a distinct record rather than assuming it accompanies the release entry. |
The court record and release entry should be read together. A bond order does not prove that bond was posted or that processing ended. “Case closed” does not state custody. A state-prison judgment can explain why the person disappeared from county custody, but the event was a transfer. Likewise, a jail timestamp does not resolve every charge, sentence, or later supervision term.
Request Clare County Release Records
The Clare County Sheriff’s Records Division accepts written requests through the county process. The official Clare County FOIA request form supports copies, certified copies, inspection, or a subscription, with pickup, onsite copying, mail, email, or county digital media as delivery choices. Use of the form helps route the request, though the research does not establish that it is mandatory.
- Identify the person by full name and date of birth. Add the approximate booking date, case number, incident number, or booking number when known.
- Ask for the booking sheet and release entry. List the actual release date and time, release code and meaning, destination, bond and charge entries, related order, and booking photo separately.
- Choose a delivery method. Electronic delivery may reduce copying or mailing work, but it should not be described as free.
- Email the sheriff request to vanwagnerl@clareco.net or use FOIA@clareco.net. Mail may be sent to Clare County FOIA Coordinator, 225 West Main Street, P.O. Box 438, Harrison, MI 48625.
- If part is withheld, ask for the statutory basis and reasonably separable nonexempt portions. Compare the response with the proper court case.
255 West Main Street
Harrison, MI 48625
(989) 539-7166, extension 4220
Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
The county generally must issue an initial response within five business days and may take a ten-business-day extension. That is a response schedule, not a promise of production within five days. The county may grant, deny, or grant in part. Current charges must be itemized under its procedures, so no flat fee should be assumed. The form describes a first-$20 waiver for a qualifying indigent requester subject to its conditions.
Michigan Law on Clare Releases
Michigan’s Freedom of Information Act begins at MCL 15.231. The practical response rule in MCL 15.235 allows a grant, written denial, partial grant, or one written extension. MCL 15.234 governs permissible fees and itemized estimates. Public access remains subject to exemptions for material such as juvenile, sealed, victim, medical, security, or other protected information.
A set-aside changes public treatment of a conviction. Under Michigan’s Set Aside Conviction Act, especially MCL 780.623, a set-aside conviction generally becomes nonpublic subject to statutory access. MDOC says it removes a conviction from public OTIS after a court or operation of law sets it aside. That change does not establish that incarceration or a past release never occurred. An empty search may also reflect spelling, court selection, a restricted case, or the end of OTIS’s display window.
Clare Jail Reimbursement Snapshot
A narrow state report offers one useful local measure. MDOC’s FY2025 County Jail Reimbursement Program report lists Clare with three reimbursed inmates, 239 reimbursed days, and $16,395. Those figures cover eligible reimbursed cases only. They are not the county’s total bookings, total releases, jail population, or average stay.
The distinction matters because Clare County has not published a complete release count. A bounded reimbursement program should not be stretched into a general jail statistic. It does show one documented point where county custody and state funding intersect.
Find a Released Clare Inmate
Start with the last known custodian, not a broad name search. A person who served only a Clare County jail sentence will not appear in OTIS. Someone committed to state prison may leave the jail before MDOC enters the transfer. Federal pretrial detainees can be held for the U.S. Marshals Service without a BOP designation. ICE’s locator covers current immigration detention, not a release archive.
- Call the Clare County Jail control room at (989) 539-7166, extension 4238. Ask whether the person remains confined and which channel supplies the release entry if not.
- Request the county booking and release record in writing when documentary proof is needed. Ask whether departure meant community release or transfer.
- Search the 80th District or 55th Circuit case in MiCOURT Case Search to identify bond, dismissal, sentence, time served, or commitment.
- Use OTIS for a person committed to MDOC. Read status, Date Paroled, discharge information, Earliest Release Date, Maximum Discharge, and supervision location together.
- Use Michigan VINELink for a recent participating-agency update, BOP for sentenced federal custody, and ICE ODLS for current immigration detention.
- For older state cases beyond public OTIS, request discharge material from MDOC Records Retention. A set-aside or restricted record may require a different official route.
The county does not publish a recent-release feed. The Released Last 24 Hours page details the same-day records fallback, while the home search path remains the full route for one named person.
OTIS Search for Clare Releases
The Michigan Department of Corrections OTIS page covers current prisoners, parolees, and probationers, plus people discharged within three years of supervision discharge. It excludes county-jail-only custody, people convicted but not yet sentenced, and older discharged records outside that public window. Search by MDOC number when possible, since it is more exact than a name.
| OTIS field | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Name or MDOC number | Search inputs; the MDOC number gives the strongest identity match. |
| Current status and location | Shows state prison or supervision context, not county-jail custody. |
| Earliest Release Date | The point when the Parole Board generally gains jurisdiction, not a promised exit date. |
| Maximum Discharge | The sentence endpoint shown by MDOC, subject to other sentences or holds. |
| Date Paroled | The actual date the person left prison or camp, or reached parole status from nonsecure supervision. |
| Discharge information | Shows the end of MDOC supervision on that record when applicable. |
| Supervision location | Identifies the field office that may verify parole or felony probation. |
The captured OTIS page shows its scope and start-search control:
OTIS supplies state corrections facts, not a Clare County Jail release. When the person served only a county sentence, a correct OTIS no-result leaves the county question unanswered.
Clare County Recent Release Gap
The official Clare County Sheriff page lists jail, control-room, and Records Division contacts. It does not provide a current roster, a 24-hour or 72-hour release view, a release archive, a field list, or a booking-photo flag. No verified sheriff app or official social release feed was established. Search results for St. Clair County must not be substituted for Clare County.
The official jail page is shown below. Its role in a released-inmate search is contact and record routing, not a public release list.
For an immediate check, ask the control room whether the person remains confined. Then request the exact release entry. A date-range FOIA request may seek an existing release log for stated boundaries, but the county is not required to create a new report that it does not maintain. A person-specific request is usually narrower.
Clare Supervision After Prison Release
Parole is conditional release from state prison under MDOC authority. Felony probation is a court sentence supervised through MDOC field operations. District-court probation is a separate court function. OTIS is the public person-specific starting point for state supervision: confirm the identifiers, status, and listed office before calling.
MDOC assigns Clare County to Outstate Region 5. The local parole and probation office is at 225 West Main Street, P.O. Box 438, Harrison, with telephone (989) 539-2458. That office can clarify state parole or felony-probation supervision. It should not be confused with the 80th District Court probation officer. An absconder entry can follow a past prison release and describes an alleged supervision problem, not current placement in Clare County Jail.
Clare Release Alerts and Locators
Michigan VINELink can show current or recently released people when a participating agency supplies the data. Search by name, ID, or case number, then compare the agency and identifiers. Michigan is available, but Clare County Jail participation must be confirmed in the live result or agency selector. No result can reflect nonparticipation, an offline agency, transfer, restricted data, spelling, or the end of recent visibility.
For a sentenced federal prisoner, the BOP Inmate Locator can show a release date and “Released” or “Not in BOP Custody.” That means the person is outside BOP custody, not necessarily free of supervision or another agency. ICE’s ODLS is a current immigration detention locator, not a historical release source. The three systems cannot be swapped: VINE follows participating custody reports, BOP follows federal corrections, and ODLS checks present ICE detention.
Where Clare Release Records Appear
The right source depends on both custody type and time. Current-custody tools answer “where are they held now?” Release records answer “when and how did this facility stop holding them?” Court files answer “what legal event authorized or followed that change?” None should be treated as a universal locator.
| Situation | Best source | Key limit |
|---|---|---|
| Still held at Clare County Jail | Jail control room | Clare publishes no official live roster. |
| Released or transferred from the jail | County booking/release entry | Ask for destination to separate community release from transfer. |
| Committed to Michigan prison | OTIS | Entry may follow county transfer; jail-only cases are excluded. |
| Released from state prison | OTIS Date Paroled or discharge record | Parole still carries supervision. |
| Federal sentenced custody | BOP Inmate Locator | Does not cover every USMS pretrial detainee. |
| Current ICE detention | ICE ODLS | No result is not proof of release. |
| Legal outcome | 80th District or 55th Circuit case | An order is not always the physical departure time. |
Clare Release Records Across Courts
Clare County’s official courts page places the 80th District and 55th Circuit contacts side by side, but their records cover different stages. District Court is the logical first stop for misdemeanors, arraignment, bond, and a felony’s preliminary entries. When an adult felony is bound over, the lasting disposition and state-prison sentence belong in the 55th Circuit file.
The Clare County Courts page documents that local split:
Read the Register of Actions for bond, plea or verdict, dismissal, judgment, probation, and post-judgment activity. If the district file ends with a bind-over, continue to Circuit Court. The court order explains legal authority. The sheriff’s release entry confirms physical departure.
Getting Home After a Clare Release
No official source states a routine Clare County Jail release hour, exit door, property handoff, weekend process, holiday schedule, or family waiting area. Call the control room before driving. Confirm both the expected processing status and the physical pickup point because a court order does not set the minute the jail completes release.
Clare County Transit Corporation provides countywide, demand-response, curb-to-curb transportation rather than a jail-specific fixed route. The service asks riders to call at least 24 hours ahead. Same-day travel depends on bus availability, and Saturday service requires advance reservation. Dispatch is (989) 539-1473. The transit agency does not promise that the jail coordinates a ride or guarantees a pickup location.
Release timing and transportation must be arranged separately. A rider or family member should confirm the pickup point with the jail and the reservation with transit. If the person was transferred rather than released to the community, a local ride is not the next step.
Federal Custody After Clare Jail Release
Sheriff corrections material acknowledges federal-prisoner responsibilities, but departure from Clare County Jail is not automatically a federal release. A U.S. Marshals pretrial detainee may be moved to another contract facility and may not yet have a BOP number. The federal court docket and the release or detention order supply the legal context, while the facility or USMS context identifies physical custody.
Use PACER for the federal docket and the BOP locator only after federal designation or for a sentenced federal record. “Not in BOP custody” does not reveal whether a person remains with USMS, a state, a county, ICE, or under federal supervised release. The Clare jail record should name the destination when maintained and disclosable.
Clare County Release Facility
Clare County Jail is the only confirmed detention facility in the project Facility Map. It serves local detention needs and may also encounter people held under other authority. A person may leave for the community, transfer to MDOC, move to another county or agency, or enter federal custody. The release record and destination decide which search system comes next.
No operational MDOC prison, BOP institution, or official ICE detention center was identified inside Clare County. City police can make arrests, but the official-source review did not establish a separate municipal lockup that warrants a facility page. State, federal, and immigration systems are therefore release destinations or external custody paths, not Clare County facilities.