Reviewed and updated October 9, 2026 by the SearchSystems.net editorial team. The arrest counts are the ones each agency reported to the FBI, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026. The jail figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data. Every office link was opened and checked against the office's own site between September 23, 2026 and September 30, 2026.
Whitley County, Indiana, has about 35,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Whitley County is held at the county jail, run by the Whitley County Sheriff's Office, and the jail's record of each person held is a public record. This guide says where to look for someone in custody, what the jail holds and who books people into it.
This guide covers the search, the jail, who books people, state prison and common questions.
Related guides: Whitley County public records, Whitley County arrest records, Whitley County warrants, Whitley County criminal records, Whitley County court records, Indiana arrest records and Indiana inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Whitley County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Whitley County is held at the county jail, run by the Whitley County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Whitley County Sheriff's Office at whitleycounty.in.gov/department/index.php?structureid=9 (page title: Sheriff's Department | Jail | Whitley County, Indiana), phone 260-244-6410, 711 N Opportunity Dr Columbia City, IN 46725, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 30, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at 260-244-6410.
The Whitley County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 100 people, down from about 110 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Whitley County has about 35,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 29 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Whitley County Jail
The Whitley County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Columbia City and South Whitley make the arrests that end in a booking in Whitley County.
Columbia City reported 446 arrests to the FBI for 2025. Those kept in custody were booked into the county jail; a person cited and released at the scene was not.
The counts, agency by agency and year by year, are in Whitley County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Whitley County serves the sentence in a facility of the Indiana Department of Correction, whose inmate locator is at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov/idoc-ofs-1.0.2/ofs.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Whitley County?
Ask the Whitley County Sheriff's Office at 260-244-6410; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at whitleycounty.in.gov.
How many people are in the Whitley County jail?
About 100 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
What is the phone number for the Whitley County jail?
260-244-6410, the number on the page of the Whitley County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Whitley County go?
To a facility of the Indiana Department of Correction; its inmate locator is at offenderlocator.idoc.in.gov.
Is this the official Whitley County website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.