Wahkiakum County Inmate Population

Wahkiakum County inmate population records are maintained by the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Office in Cathlamet, which operates the county jail with a small staff of 13 deputies covering 287 square miles. There is no public online roster for this facility. To check whether a person is currently in custody, you must call the Sheriff's Office directly at 360-795-3242. This page covers how to reach jail staff, how visitation works, and how to use state-level tools when an inmate may have been transferred out of the county.

Wahkiakum County Jail Inmate Records

The Wahkiakum County Jail is at 64 Main Street in Cathlamet, the same address as the Sheriff's Office. This is a small facility serving one of the least populous counties in Washington state, with a county population of roughly 4,000 people. The Sheriff's Office operates around the clock, seven days a week. You can reach staff by phone at 360-795-3242 or by email at howiem@co.wahkiakum.wa.us.

Unlike many Washington counties, Wahkiakum does not publish an online inmate roster. There is no web portal, no JailTracker system, and no searchable database for current bookings. If you need to find out whether someone is in custody at the Wahkiakum County Jail, calling 360-795-3242 is the only direct method. Staff can confirm custody status for people booked at the facility. This small operation means calls are often answered quickly, but having the full legal name of the person ready will speed the process.

The county's small size does have some practical benefits. With 13 deputies patrolling 287 square miles, the staff-to-public ratio is relatively high. When you call to check on someone, you are typically speaking with someone who knows the facility well. Bookings at the Wahkiakum County Jail are made by Sheriff's deputies and, occasionally, by other law enforcement agencies operating within the county.

Visitation at Wahkiakum County Jail

The Wahkiakum County Jail allows in-person visits on two days each week. Visitors can come on Tuesdays from 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM and on Sundays from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM. Both windows are two hours long, which is more generous than many small county jails in Washington.

All visitors must follow the facility's conduct rules. You must be properly dressed when you arrive. Gang colors or gang-affiliated clothing are not allowed. You need a valid, government-issued photo ID to be admitted. Visitors under the age of 17 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The jail staff can turn away visitors who do not meet these requirements, so it is worth calling ahead at 360-795-3242 to confirm the current rules and to verify that the person you want to visit has not had visitation restricted.

Visitation schedules at small county jails can shift based on staffing levels or facility needs. Always call the day before to confirm. The Tuesday evening window is convenient for people who work daytime hours. The Sunday afternoon window works well for families. If a visit falls on a holiday, contact the jail to find out if the schedule is changed.

How to Find Someone in Wahkiakum County Custody

Because there is no online roster, the steps for checking custody at the Wahkiakum County Jail are straightforward. Call 360-795-3242 and ask whether the person is currently in custody. Have the person's full legal name ready. If they were booked under a different name or an alias, that may affect the results. Staff will typically confirm or deny custody status and may be able to tell you basic booking information.

If you call and the person is not found in the Wahkiakum County system, consider a few other possibilities. They may have been released before you called. They could have been transferred to another county, or they may be in state custody if they were sentenced and moved to a Department of Corrections facility. The county clerk can also be a useful contact for court-related questions. Kay Holland serves as the County Clerk and can be reached at 360-795-3558 at 64 Main Street, PO Box 157, Cathlamet, WA 98612.

For individuals not found at the local level, the Washington State Department of Corrections operates a statewide inmate search. The DOC tool covers state prisons and work release centers across Washington. If someone was sentenced in Wahkiakum County Superior Court and sent to a state facility, you can find them through the DOC search at doc.wa.gov.

The DOC inmate search is the main state tool for tracking people who have moved from county jail to a state prison. The screenshot below shows the search interface available through the Washington State DOC website.

The DOC search is free and does not require an account. Results show the facility name, sentencing information, and projected release date when available.

VINE Victim Notification in Wahkiakum County

VINE (Victim Information and Notification Everyday) is a free service available to anyone who wants to track the custody status of a person held in Wahkiakum County or any other Washington facility. Once registered, the VINE system automatically sends alerts by phone, text, or email when the person is released, transferred, or has a court date change. You do not need to give your name to sign up, and registration is free.

Because Wahkiakum County has no online roster, VINE is especially useful here. Rather than calling the jail each time you want an update, you can register once and receive automatic notifications. This is valuable for crime victims, family members, and others who need to track custody without making repeated phone calls. The VINE service covers both county jails and state correctional facilities, so it works even if the person is transferred out of Wahkiakum County.

The VINE victim notification portal gives real-time custody tracking across Washington State. The screenshot below shows the VINELink interface used to register and check inmate status.

To register, go to VINELink.com and search for the person by name or ID. You can choose how you want to receive alerts and whether to include a PIN for call-back notifications. The service is available 24 hours a day.

Public Records Requests in Wahkiakum County

Washington's Public Records Act, codified at RCW 42.56, gives the public the right to request and receive records held by government agencies, including the Wahkiakum County Sheriff's Office. The agency must respond within five business days. That response could mean producing the records, giving a timeline for when they will be ready, or asking for more information to narrow the request.

Jail records fall under RCW 70.48.100, which requires local jails to keep records of all confined persons and to make those records accessible to the public. Booking logs, intake records, and release records are generally subject to disclosure. Some information, such as details about ongoing investigations or information protected under other state statutes, may be withheld.

To submit a public records request to the Wahkiakum County Sheriff, write to the office at 64 Main Street, Cathlamet, WA 98612, or call 360-795-3242. For court records, contact County Clerk Kay Holland at the same address or at 360-795-3558. The Washington Courts portal at courts.wa.gov also allows public searches of case records statewide, including Wahkiakum County Superior and District Court filings.

State-Level Resources for Wahkiakum County

Several Washington State systems can help when a local search turns up nothing. The DOC incarcerated person search at doc.wa.gov covers all state prisons. The WATCH system at watch.wsp.wa.gov provides access to Washington criminal history records. WATCH results cover arrest and conviction history and are useful beyond just current custody status, though there is a fee to use that service.

The Washington Courts portal at courts.wa.gov lets you search case records across all Washington courts by name or case number. For Wahkiakum County, this covers Superior Court and District Court cases. Court records show charges filed, hearing dates, and case outcomes, which can help you understand the legal status of someone who was booked at the jail.

Wahkiakum County is one of the smallest counties in Washington by both land area and population. Its jail is small and its records are not online. For anything beyond a direct phone call to 360-795-3242, the state-level tools above are your best options for tracking someone in or recently out of the county system.

Cities in Wahkiakum County

Wahkiakum County is a small rural county on the Columbia River in southwestern Washington. Cathlamet is the county seat and the largest community in the county. Other small communities include Skamokawa, Rosburg, and Grays River. None of the communities in Wahkiakum County currently meet the population threshold for individual city pages on this site. All jail bookings in the county are processed through the Wahkiakum County Jail in Cathlamet.

Nearby Counties

Wahkiakum County sits in the southwestern corner of Washington along the Columbia River. If you are searching for someone not found in the Wahkiakum system, the neighboring counties below may be relevant.