The Grant County Inmate Population
The useful starting point for the Grant County inmate population is the facility map in the research record. Grant County does not publish an official county-run jail page, local jail administrator page, or sheriff-hosted inmate roster on the county website. The official sheriff page identifies Sheriff Steven Wratchford and describes the sheriff's law-enforcement, arrest, court-process, and prisoner-transport duties, but jail operations for Grant County arrests run through the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation regional jail network.
Potomac Highlands Regional Jail and Correctional Facility is the operational center for the Grant County inmate population. The WV DCR facility page says Potomac Highlands serves Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, and Pendleton Counties. That means a person arrested in Grant County may be booked and held at a facility in Augusta, Hampshire County. Court hearings, warrants, bond orders, and clerk records remain tied to Grant County courts even when jail custody is handled at the regional facility.
That regional setup matters. A facility count for Potomac Highlands is not the same thing as a Grant County-only inmate count. The Grant County inmate population is the local share of people booked into a multi-county jail, plus people whose Grant County cases later lead to prison, parole, federal custody, immigration detention, or release.
Grant County Inmate Population Statistics
Official county-specific jail population figures were not found in the crawlable public sources reviewed for this build. The best available figures are facility-level Potomac Highlands numbers from WV DCR annual-report snippets and a same-day Daily Incarcerations institution count. Those figures help describe the facility serving Grant County, but they should not be read as the number of Grant County residents or Grant County defendants in custody.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Primary jail facility for Grant County | Potomac Highlands Regional Jail and Correctional Facility | WV DCR facility page, inspected July 2, 2026 |
| Counties served by Potomac Highlands | Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, Pendleton | WV DCR facility page |
| Rated population | 368 | WV DCR FY2025 annual-report search snippet, PDF not locally text-verified |
| Current population | 66 | WV DCR FY2025 annual-report search snippet, PDF not locally text-verified |
| FY2024 population | 47 | WV DCR FY2024 annual-report search snippet, PDF not locally text-verified |
| Daily admissions by institution | Potomac Highlands: 1 admission | WV Daily Incarcerations visible result, July 2, 2026 |
| Grant County-only current inmate count | Not located | County postback requires reCAPTCHA |
The WV Daily Incarcerations page is useful for fresh admissions because it includes a county dropdown. The public view seen in research showed an institution-level admissions line for Potomac Highlands on July 2, 2026. It did not expose a Grant County-only name list in crawlable text.
Grant County Inmate Population Trends
The local trend record is thin because Grant County-specific annual bookings, average daily population, length of stay, and demographic tables were not found in official public sources. The available trend points are facility-level Potomac Highlands snippets and the Daily Incarcerations institution count. They still show the main pattern for Grant County users: the public data is reported at the regional jail or statewide corrections level first, while the county-only slice is harder to isolate.
| Year or Date | Population / Admissions | How to Read It |
|---|---|---|
| FY2024 | 47 | Search snippet for Potomac Highlands Regional Jail and Correctional Facility; not a Grant County-only count. |
| FY2025 | 66 current; 368 rated | Search snippet for the same facility; PDF should be visually checked before using as an audited statistic. |
| July 2, 2026 | 1 admission at Potomac Highlands | Daily Incarcerations visible result by institution, not county average daily population. |
When a local count is needed for research, public reporting, or a records request, ask the custodian for the exact category. A request for "Grant County inmates held at Potomac Highlands on a date" is different from a request for "Potomac Highlands facility population" or "Grant County arrests booked during a date range." West Virginia FOIA requires a reasonably specific request, so that distinction can affect how the agency searches and responds.
Why Grant County Uses a Regional Jail
The Grant County sheriff's office is based in Petersburg and handles local law enforcement duties, but the jail serving the county is a WV DCR regional jail. Potomac Highlands is located in Augusta and serves five counties near the Virginia and Maryland borders. That regional model explains why "Grant County Jail" searches often lead to a state-run facility page instead of a county jail building near the courthouse.
The setup also affects records. Sheriff records may include arrest reports, incident reports, prisoner transport, and local warrant execution. Jail custody records are held by Potomac Highlands or WV DCR. Court records are held by the magistrate or circuit clerk. The prosecutor's charging decisions can change the case after booking, so jail charges should be checked against court records before being treated as the final case status.
The Grant County sheriff page is still an important source because it identifies the local arresting agency and records contact. It lists Sheriff Steven Wratchford, the sheriff address at 5 Highland Avenue in Petersburg, phone 304-257-1818, fax 304-257-2665, and email gcsher@sheriff.state.wv.us.
How to Search Grant County Inmates
The main official lookup for current regional jail custody is the WV Regional Jail offender search. It covers people in the regional jail system, including those held at Potomac Highlands. Start there when the question is whether someone is currently in jail after a Grant County arrest. Daily Incarcerations can help with fresh admissions, while the prison locator is for state prison, parole, and active supervision.
- Open the WV Regional Jail offender search and enter at least the first three letters of the last name.
- Add the first name when the last name is common or when several results look close.
- Complete the reCAPTCHA and compare the result to the known facility, name, age clues, booking date, and charge labels.
- Check Daily Incarcerations when the arrest is same-day or very recent.
- Switch to the WV DCR prison and supervision search after sentencing, prison transfer, parole, or active supervision.
- Use BOP, ICE, or U.S. Marshals channels when federal or immigration custody is possible.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name, partial or full | Text | Yes | Minimum three characters and maximum 100. |
| First Name | Text | No | Optional field that narrows common names. |
| reCAPTCHA | Challenge | Yes | Required before search submission. |
| Search | Button | Yes | Submitting the form accepts the DCR terms and disclaimer. |
Grant County has no confirmed sheriff mobile app with an official inmate roster or warrant lookup in the sources reviewed. A possible 365Labs community portal was found, but it was not linked from the official county sheriff page and was not verified as an official roster.
Grant County Jail Record Details
Live WV Regional Jail profiles could not be inspected through automated research because the search requires reCAPTCHA. The public search page and DCR disclaimer still support careful claims about search inputs, record limits, and accuracy warnings. The official disclaimer says information changes quickly and may not reflect true current location, release date, status, or other offender details.
| Record Area | What the Research Supports |
|---|---|
| Name search | Last name is required, first name is optional, and at least three last-name letters are needed. |
| Facility or custody status | Expected in custody results, but exact public fields require live profile verification. |
| Charges | Roster charge labels are not the final court record and should be checked in magistrate or circuit court. |
| Booking photos | DCR disclaimer discusses booking photographs, but exact profile photo display was not manually verified. |
| Release date or location | DCR warns these fields may be incomplete or change quickly. |
For more detail on custody records, the Grant County inmate records page separates roster lookup, daily bookings, jail phone follow-up, and records requests.
Grant County Custody Systems
Different custody systems answer different questions. A person booked after a local arrest may appear in the regional jail search. A person sentenced to prison may move to the WV DCR prison and supervision search. A federal defendant may not appear in BOP until sentenced or committed, and an immigration detainee may require ICE ODLS. Court portals track charges and case events, not jail housing.
| Question | Best Starting Point | What It Covers |
|---|---|---|
| Current jail custody after a Grant County arrest | WV Regional Jail offender search | Regional jail custody, including Potomac Highlands. |
| Fresh booking or admission check | WV Daily Incarcerations | County dropdown and institution admissions. |
| Sentenced prison or parole | WV DCR prison/supervision search | Active supervision, prison, and parole status only. |
| Federal custody | BOP inmate locator | Federal inmates from 1982 to present, with release-status caveats. |
| Immigration custody | ICE ODLS | Immigration detention lookup, separate from WV jail records. |
| Release notifications | West Virginia VINELink | Custody and criminal-case notification service. |
Grant County Inmate Record Laws
West Virginia public-records law and corrections statutes shape what can be requested, what may be withheld, and which office controls a record. Grant County users should route requests to the office that actually keeps the record: the sheriff for local arrest or incident records, WV DCR for regional jail custody records, and court clerks for case documents.
Key access rules:
W. Va. Code §29B-1-3 gives the public a right to inspect or copy public records unless an exemption applies, and requires a response as soon as practicable and within five business days.
W. Va. Code §62-1-6a defines booking photographs and limits law-enforcement social-media posting for alleged minor offenses.
W. Va. Code §61-11-25 covers expungement of eligible records, including arrest records, photographs, fingerprints, and index data.
W. Va. Code §15A-3-4 gives WV DCR authority over institutions, classification, custody, discipline, treatment, and transportation.
Juvenile records are different. W. Va. Code §49-5-103 generally treats juvenile records as nonpublic unless a statutory exception applies. Do not expect juvenile custody or court information to appear like an adult jail roster entry.
Court Records After Grant County Booking
Jail custody and court records are linked, but they are not the same record. The jail roster may show arrest or booking labels. The court case shows complaints, warrants, bond orders, hearings, prosecutor filings, amendments, dismissals, pleas, and dispositions. For Grant County, magistrate court handles many early criminal steps, while felony cases can move to circuit court.
The WV Judiciary Grant County court page lists Grant County's circuit, family, magistrate, and probation contacts. The Grant County Circuit Clerk is Melanie R. Redman at the courthouse in Petersburg, and the magistrate clerk is Cheryl L. Bergdoll at 4 North Main Street. The prosecutor page identifies John G. Ours as the prosecuting attorney and describes felony, misdemeanor, warrant, trial, and grand jury duties.
Use MCRSearch for magistrate case searches and WVPASS for circuit court searches. The Judiciary's magistrate-search explanation says online searches can return up to 30 records, but court documents themselves are not online. Call or visit the correct clerk for copies.
Grant County Booking Photos
Grant County jail mugshots should be handled as records, not entertainment. The WV DCR disclaimer discusses booking photographs and restricts reproducing DCR information for arrest or booking-photo compilations without written consent. A live Potomac Highlands profile was not inspected, so exact photo display and retention should be checked in a browser before making a field-by-field claim.
If a booking photo is needed, start with the current regional jail search. If the image is not visible or the person has been released, use a public-records request to the proper custodian. The Grant County jail mugshots page gives the booking-photo law, request path, and removal limits.
Grant County Detention Facility
The Grant County facility map resolves to one detention facility. Potomac Highlands Regional Jail and Correctional Facility is not physically in Grant County, but it is the relevant jail for Grant County arrests and local custody. It is operated by WV DCR and serves a five-county region.
- Potomac Highlands Regional Jail and Correctional Facility - regional jail and correctional facility serving Grant, Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, and Pendleton Counties.
The official Potomac Highlands facility page provides the address, phones, superintendent, counties served, directions, and visitation rules.
The manifest image below is from the official WV DCR facility page for Potomac Highlands Regional Jail.
The screenshot supports the key local point: Grant County jail custody is routed through the regional jail in Augusta, not a separate sheriff-run Grant County jail page.
Grant County Inmate Population FAQ
Is there a Grant County Jail roster? No official sheriff-hosted roster was located on the Grant County WV website. Use the WV Regional Jail offender search for current jail custody.
Where are Grant County inmates held?
Grant County arrests are served by Potomac Highlands Regional Jail and Correctional Facility in Augusta. The facility also serves Hampshire, Hardy, Mineral, and Pendleton Counties, so facility population numbers are not Grant County-only numbers.
How do I check a same-day arrest?
Search the regional jail offender search by last name, then check Daily Incarcerations if the arrest is fresh. If no listing appears, call Potomac Highlands or the sheriff with the person's full name and date of birth if known.
What if the person was sentenced?
Use the WV DCR prison and supervision search after a prison transfer, parole placement, or active supervision. The regional jail search and DOC search cover different custody stages.
Where do I find charges?
Use MCRSearch, WVPASS, or the Grant County magistrate or circuit clerk. Jail charges are booking information and may differ from the prosecutor's filed charges.
Grant County Custody Terms
Short definitions help keep jail, court, and prison records separate.
- Booking
- Jail intake after arrest, often tied to identity, charge labels, fingerprints, and a booking photograph.
- Regional jail
- A WV DCR jail serving multiple counties instead of one county sheriff jail.
- Detainer
- A hold request from another agency or jurisdiction that can affect release.
- Disposition
- The court outcome of a charge, such as dismissal, plea, conviction, or other order.
- Expungement
- A legal process that can seal or remove eligible records under West Virginia law.