Otter Tail County Jail Inmate Lookup

Otter Tail County Jail Overview

Otter Tail County Jail, also called the Otter Tail County Detention Facility, is operated by the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office. The facility is a county jail and local adult detention facility at 416 South Mill Street in Fergus Falls. The official county jail page identifies Jail Administrator Beth Carlson, and the Sheriff's Office page lists Sheriff Barry Fitzgibbons, Chief Deputy Reed Reinbold, Lieutenant Greg Seim, and Jail Administrator Beth Carlson in current leadership roles.

The jail was built in 1987. Official sources describe it as a secure coed facility for sentenced and unsentenced Otter Tail County prisoners, prisoners for other counties, Minnesota Department of Corrections prisoners, immigration prisoners, and U.S. Marshals prisoners. That mix matters for lookup: a current local detainee starts with the county custody PDF, but a sentenced prison transfer, federal sentenced inmate, or immigration case may require a different locator plus direct jail confirmation.

The county's jail page is the source for facility capacity, jail history, NCIC visiting, and administrator contact details. View the official Otter Tail County Jail page for the county's facility summary.

The jail page supports the local facility details used here, including the 111-bed capacity and the county's NCIC video visitation instructions.

Otter Tail County Jail Capacity and Population

The official county jail page states that the jail has a capacity of 111. The Minnesota DOC 2024 inspection report also lists 111 approved secure coed beds, with operational capacity of 99.90 at 90% operating capacity. The current-custody snapshot inspected during research was an 8-page PDF dated 06/18/2026 at 10:00 with approximately 35 current inmate entries, but the county says the list updates every two hours, so that count should be treated as a timestamped snapshot.

How to Look Up an Inmate at Otter Tail County Jail

The correct local lookup system is the Otter Tail Jail In Custody List. It is a PDF, not a searchable web form. The county page says it updates every two hours and cites Minnesota public-data statutes. For a fuller field-by-field explanation, use the Otter Tail County jail inmate records page.

1. Open the official Jail In Custody List page from the county detention section.
2. Click the county link to the current custody PDF and note the timestamp at the top.
3. Use Ctrl+F or the PDF search tool for the person's last name, booking number, MNI number, statute, or charge phrase.
4. Read across the row for MNI number, sex, age, booking number, intake date, charges, Photo column, bond amount, name, and projected release date if shown.
5. If the person is not listed, call the jail at 218-998-8556, check MCRO for court activity, search the MNDOC Locator for prison custody, or use BOP/ICE locators for federal or immigration custody.

Otter Tail County Jail Address and Contact

Use the jail number for current custody, first appearance timing, roster questions, and visitor-arrival confirmation. The Sheriff's Office main office is nearby at the Law Enforcement Center, but the jail itself is the facility contact for detention questions.

Visiting Someone at Otter Tail County Jail

Otter Tail County Jail uses NCIC video visitation. The county says visitors must create an NCIC account and fill out all requested information so approval can be prompted. On-site video visits are free. Off-site video is available daily, but the county text did not publish a remote fee schedule, so confirm account costs through NCIC before funding a visit.

Mail, Phone, Tablets, and Money at Otter Tail County Jail

The jail FAQ says no items may be brought in for inmates. The jail provides three meals per day, and inmates with money on a canteen account may buy items such as pop, candy, writing materials, and additional hygiene items. Beginning July 21, 2025, the county says inmates have wall-mounted phones and secure handheld tablets for calls, video visitation, messaging, and educational or rehabilitative programming. Friends and family can set up and fund prepaid phone or video accounts through NCIC by calling 1-800-943-2189 or using ncic.com.

Booking, First Appearance, and Bond

After an Otter Tail County arrest, the detention facility handles booking, housing, and release for people suspected of crimes or convicted of crimes. The county does not publish a minute-by-minute intake workflow, but the public roster shows the public output of booking: MNI number, booking number, intake date, charges, bond, Photo column, and release information when available. The 2024 DOC inspection also confirms that intake medical screening is governed by Minnesota Rule Chapter 2911.

The jail FAQ says an arrested inmate has 48 hours to be seen by or have the arrest reviewed by a judge. Otter Tail County calls this the First Appearance Hearing, generally held in the courthouse at 11 a.m. during normal business days. The jail says the public may call before 11 a.m. to ask whether an inmate is going to court that day. At first appearance, the judge may release the person, set bail or bond, or keep the person in jail. The roster may show bond amounts, but court orders should be checked through MCRO when the court case matters.

Programs: Work Release and Sentence to Serve

Official county sources identify Work Release and Sentence to Serve as jail programs for qualifying inmates. The 2024 Sheriff's Year End Report says the detention facility had 12 work-release participants, with 100 work-release days served and an average of 8.3 days worked while in custody. Sentence to Serve is described as a county-run program with two crew leaders and up to 12 inmates working nonprofit projects, from clearing brush to painting buildings. The 2024 report listed 449 STS hours, $4,490 in fines value worked off, and $20,000 in project dollar value.

DOC Inspection and PREA Context

The Minnesota DOC 2024 inspection identified the jail as a secure coed local adult jail inspected on 10/30/2024. The report found substantial compliance overall: 122 of 127 applicable mandatory rules in compliance and 99 of 100 applicable essential rules in compliance. It also listed noncompliance or concern items involving visitation scheduling, daily security-inspection documentation, medication disposal accounting, monthly inventory of unissued security equipment, and medical screening. The visitation schedule issue was fixed on site, and other corrective-action deadlines were listed for 01/31/2025.

The county PREA page provides reporting options through the Otter Tail County Sheriff's Office at 218-998-8555, Fergus Falls Police Department at 218-332-5555, and third-party Someplace Safe at 800-974-3359 or 218-739-2853. Anonymous reporting is available on request. PREA audit excerpts in the research included ongoing and substantiated allegation categories, so conditions language should stay tied to the official audit and inspection sources rather than broad claims.

Directions and Visitor Arrival

The jail sits in central Fergus Falls near the Otter Tail County Courthouse and the Sheriff's Office/Law Enforcement Center. Use the exact address 416 South Mill Street, Fergus Falls, MN 56537 for mapping. Official county pages did not publish parking rates, public-transit route guidance, or a separate visitor entrance note, so confirm visitor parking and entry instructions with the jail before arrival, especially for evening video visitation or court-related pickup and drop-off.

The county location page shows the jail address, phone, hours, and map context. See the official Otter Tail County Jail location page before traveling.

The location screenshot reinforces the facility address and public-hours information, but the jail should still be called for day-specific entry, visit approval, and custody status.

Otter Tail County Jail in the County System

For site-build purposes, the facility map resolves to one physical detention facility in Otter Tail County. The jail is the county's pretrial and short-sentence custody point, while MNDOC handles adults committed to the Commissioner of Corrections after sentencing. No separate county work-release annex, city jail page, state prison, BOP institution, or standalone ICE detention facility physically located in Otter Tail County was found in official sources. The jail's own page does say it can hold immigration and U.S. Marshals prisoners, which is why federal and immigration checks may still be relevant when a person is not found on the local PDF.

For a broader county-level view of custody counts, trends, and lookup channels, start with the Otter Tail County inmate population hub.