Why Sierra County Does Not Have a Standard Online Jail Roster
Sierra County does not publish a Sierra-hosted online jail roster in the official Sheriff pages reviewed. The local custody system begins with the Sierra County Temporary Holding Facility in Downieville, operated by Sheriff-Coroner Michael Fisher's office, but that facility is not a full public jail for ordinary ongoing custody. The official Temporary Housing Facility page explains that Sierra County inmates are housed primarily at Nevada County's Wayne Brown Correctional Facility and occasionally at Plumas County Jail.
That makes the current lookup path a custody-routing process. Sierra links users to Nevada County's Inmates in Custody report for people housed at Wayne Brown. That report is the best official online path for many current Sierra arrestees, but it is not a Sierra-owned database, and it does not replace the Sierra Sheriff records process, Sierra Superior Court records, VINE, CDCR CIRIS, the BOP locator, or ICE ODLS.
The distinction matters most shortly after an arrest. A person may still be in temporary holding, waiting for transport, already housed at Wayne Brown, routed to Plumas, released, or moved to another system on a hold. If the Nevada report does not show the person, that absence should not be treated as proof of release.
How to Find Someone in Sierra County Jail Custody
Use the online list as one step in a wider chain, not as a complete Sierra County inmate records index. Gather the person's full name, any alternate spelling, date of birth if known, approximate arrest date, and whether the case is local, state, federal, or immigration related.
- Call the Sierra County Sheriff-Coroner at 530-289-3700 when the arrest is recent or the custody location is uncertain. Ask whether the person is still at the temporary holding facility, was sent to Wayne Brown, was routed to Plumas, was released, or was transferred.
- Open the Nevada County Inmates in Custody report. Sierra links to this report because Wayne Brown Correctional Facility is the primary contracted housing facility for Sierra County inmates.
- Enter the first few letters of the person's last name. For hyphenated, compound, or uncertain surnames, try each component and common spelling variation.
- Review the list result for name, book date, sex, visiting-hour fields, and VINE release notification. The captured public list did not show charges, bail, mugshots, booking number, housing unit, arresting agency, or court date.
- If the person is not found, call Sierra again and ask whether Plumas County Correctional Facility is involved. Plumas can be reached at 530-283-6267 when Sierra or Nevada indicates that route.
- Register for VINE notification when release alerts matter. Sierra County says its VINE information is updated every 15 minutes by the Sheriff's Office.
Sierra County Roster Search Fields
The linked Nevada County report has a narrow public search interface. It is useful for current custody confirmation and visiting-window planning, but it is not designed as a full booking record portal for Sierra County cases.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last Name prompt | Text input/search prompt | Unspecified | The report instructs users to enter the first few letters of the person's last name and click. |
| Pagination | Page navigation | Not applicable | First, previous, next, and last page controls may appear with a page count. |
| Full Name | Result column | Not applicable | Name appears in the custody result list. |
| Book Date | Result column | Not applicable | Booking date is shown in MM/DD/YYYY format. |
| Sex | Result column | Not applicable | M/F values were observed in the public capture. |
| Visiting Hours | Result columns | Not applicable | Separate Tuesday/Thursday and Wednesday/Friday visiting-hour fields may show times or no-visiting notes. |
| VINE Release Notification | Link/control | Not applicable | The public list includes a release-notification path such as "Notify Me When Released." |
What the Linked Roster Looks Like
The image below comes from the Nevada County in-custody report that Sierra County directs users to for people housed at Wayne Brown Correctional Facility.
This screenshot is a useful reminder that the online path is current-custody oriented. It can confirm that a person is listed and show visiting-hour categories, but it should not be treated as a complete Sierra County booking file.
What a Sierra County Inmate Record Shows Online
The public Sierra/Nevada online path shows a limited result list. Internal booking records may include photographs, fingerprints, physical identifiers, medical screening, property, classification, and release documentation, but those fields are not all published online. Use the table to separate visible roster information from records that require another source.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Name listed in the Nevada County custody report for a person currently shown in custody. |
| Book Date | Date booked into custody, shown in the public capture as a date field. |
| Sex | Basic sex value in the public list. |
| Tuesday and Thursday Visiting Hours | Visit window or a no-visiting message for those days. |
| Wednesday and Friday Visiting Hours | Visit window or a call-for-more-information style note for those days. |
| VINE Release Notification | A release notification link or control for custody-status alerts. |
| Mugshot | Not shown in the captured public list. |
| Charges and Bail | Not shown in the captured Nevada list; use facility contact, Sierra Sheriff records, Plumas rules if housed there, or Sierra Superior Court records. |
| Court Date | Not shown in the roster capture; use Sierra Superior Court calendars or clerk records. |
| Housing Unit and Booking Number | Not shown in the public capture; confirm through the holding facility or records process when available. |
County, State, Federal, and ICE Custody Are Different Searches
A Sierra County arrest may begin locally, but the search tool changes as custody changes. County custody uses the Sierra Sheriff, Nevada County roster, Wayne Brown, Plumas, and VINE. Sentenced state-prison custody uses CDCR CIRIS. Federal prison custody uses the BOP inmate locator. Immigration detention uses ICE ODLS. Sierra Conservation Center can cause name confusion, but it is a CDCR facility in Tuolumne County, not Sierra County.
| Custody Type | Where to Look | Use It When |
|---|---|---|
| Same-day or recent Sierra arrest | Sierra Sheriff-Coroner at 530-289-3700 | Location is uncertain, transport may not be complete, or the person may still be in temporary holding. |
| Current county custody at Wayne Brown | Nevada County Inmates in Custody report and Wayne Brown at 530-265-1291 | Sierra has routed the person to its primary contracted jail housing facility. |
| Occasional Plumas housing | Plumas County Correctional Facility at 530-283-6267 | Sierra or Nevada says the person was sent to Plumas County Jail. |
| Sentenced state prisoner | California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation CIRIS | The person has been sentenced and transferred to CDCR custody. |
| Federal prisoner | Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator | The person is serving a federal sentence or appears in BOP custody records. |
| Immigration detention | ICE Online Detainee Locator System | The person is in ICE custody or CBP custody more than 48 hours; ODLS cannot search minors. |
Sierra County Jail Facilities and Contact Cards
Sierra's inmate records workflow depends on three facilities. The Downieville facility is the local temporary holding and booking point. Wayne Brown Correctional Facility is the primary contracted jail housing site. Plumas County Correctional Facility is an occasional housing destination.
Sierra County Temporary Holding Facility
100 Courthouse Sq., P.O. Box 66
Downieville, CA 95936
530-289-3700
No inmate visitation, no inmate mail, no packages, no gifts, no food, no drink, no property, and no personal messages accepted through jail staff.
Wayne Brown Correctional Facility
925 Maidu Avenue
Nevada City, CA 95959
530-265-1291
Primary contracted housing path for Sierra County inmates. Use Nevada County's in-custody report and call for specific custody or visiting-hour questions.
Plumas County Correctional Facility
56 Abernethy Lane
Quincy, CA 95971
530-283-6267
Occasional Sierra County housing destination. Plumas says officers can release charges and bail amounts but not court dates or release information for safety reasons.
Booking, Intake, and Three Calls in Sierra County
Booking may begin at the Sierra County Temporary Holding Facility before a person is released, taken to court, or transferred to contracted housing. Sierra's custody materials describe intake functions such as identity confirmation, fingerprints, photographs, physical identifiers, medical and mental-health screening, property handling, classification, and release documentation.
Sierra's public temporary facility page states that booked inmates may make three phone calls: one to an attorney, one to a bail bonds company, and one to anyone needed. California law also recognizes at least three completed calls after booking when physically possible, with additional child-care calls for qualifying custodial parents. Incoming calls and personal messages are not accepted through the Sierra temporary facility.
Roster timing can lag the real custody path. A person arrested by Sierra may not appear in Nevada County's report until accepted and processed there. After court, the same person may be released, returned to Wayne Brown, sent to Plumas, transferred on a hold, or later moved to CDCR after a state-prison sentence.
Visitation Hours and Rules
Do not travel to Downieville expecting a jail visit. Sierra's official temporary facility page says no inmate visitation is permitted there. Once the person is housed at Wayne Brown or Plumas, the rules belong to that facility, not the Sierra temporary holding facility.
| Facility | Public Visiting Schedule | Appointment or Approval | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sierra County Temporary Holding Facility | None | Not applicable | No inmate visitation is permitted at the Sierra facility. |
| Wayne Brown Correctional Facility | Tuesday through Friday, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.; lobby hours 9-11:30 a.m., 12:30-4 p.m., and 5-6 p.m. | Appointment only; arrangements must be made with the incarcerated person. | Call 530-265-1291 for specific visiting hours. Visits may be suspended without warning. |
| Plumas County Correctional Facility | Confirm directly | Confirm directly | Sierra says visitation is at the discretion of Plumas when inmates are housed there. |
| CDCR state prison | Use CDCR visiting status and scheduling | Visitor approval and CDCR scheduling required | Applies only after transfer to state prison, not county pretrial custody. |
Requesting Sierra Sheriff Records
For older or released custody events, the current Nevada roster may not help. Sierra Sheriff records requests use the Sheriff's records process and request form. The records page says to allow at least 10 business days from the incident before requesting records. Fees are $40 per report plus $0.25 for each page after 20 pages.
The Sheriff records form asks for the subject's name, date of birth, address, contact information, preferred delivery method, record type, case number, incident date, party-of-interest status, and whether an arrest was made or charges are pending. That last field matters because Sierra says active criminal cases include matters under investigation, under District Attorney review, or involved with court action. For active cases, the Sheriff refers requests to the County District Attorney, and no case information other than daily-log matter is released by the Sheriff.
The California Public Records Act provides the statewide access framework, but law-enforcement and correctional files may be withheld, redacted, or routed differently when exemptions or active-case limits apply. A precise request for a crime report, traffic accident report, booking photo, daily-log entry, incident date, or case number is stronger than asking for every inmate record tied to a name.
VINE, Notifications, and the Sheriff App Question
Sierra County participates in VINE through VINELink. The county says crime victims and concerned citizens can obtain custody-status information and register for notifications by phone, email, text/SMS, or TTY. The CA VINE phone number is 1-877-411-5588, and Sierra says information is updated every 15 minutes by the Sheriff's Office.
No official Sierra County Sheriff mobile app with a roster, warrant search, most-wanted list, crime map, or records-request tool was located in the reviewed Sheriff materials. The Sheriff page links social channels, but the research did not identify an app-only roster or app-only custody search. Do not rely on an app for Sierra inmate lookup unless the Sheriff's Office later publishes one.
Mail, Money, Calls, and Commissary
The Downieville temporary holding facility accepts no inmate mail, packages, gifts, food, drink, or any other item. Inmates also cannot receive personal messages through jail staff by phone or otherwise. That restriction applies to the Sierra temporary facility; it does not mean every Sierra inmate is barred from mail after transfer.
Wayne Brown mail and money follow Nevada County's rules. Nevada County's FAQ lists a mail-processing address using the incarcerated person's name, Wayne Brown Correctional Facility: 2100 or Truckee Substation Jail: 2101, P.O. Box 96777, Las Vegas, NV 89193. Commissary can be purchased through iCare, video visits use GettingOut, and trust deposits use TouchPay with a service charge.
Plumas rules are separate. The Plumas page says officers are limited in what they can release, only medications and seeing glasses are accepted over the counter, and other items are denied. It also references Access Corrections and jailfunds.com in posted guidance. Confirm current Plumas procedures before sending money, property, or planning a visit.
Note: Confirm the actual custody location before sending mail, money, or scheduling a visit, because Sierra, Wayne Brown, and Plumas use different rules.