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 24, 2026 and October 4, 2026.
Ellsworth County, Kansas, has about 6,300 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office and four city agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the County Attorney files charges, a case in the Ellsworth County District Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Ellsworth County public records, Kansas arrest records, Kansas inmate search and Kansas criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Ellsworth County
The Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Ellsworth County. It reported 51 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Ellsworth, 3,116 residents: 5 arrests reported for 2025.
- Wilson, 834 residents.
- Kanopolis, 432 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2020.
- Holyrood, 385 residents: 0 arrests reported for 2019.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Ellsworth County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office: 51 for 2025, 40 for 2024, 50 for 2023, 57 for 2022, 62 for 2021 and 55 for 2020.
- Ellsworth: 5 for 2025, 10 for 2024, 13 for 2023, 26 for 2022, 12 for 2021 and 15 for 2020.
- Kanopolis: 0 for 2020 and 1 for 2019.
- Holyrood: 0 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 56 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 56 in 2025 against 50 in 2024, up 12 percent.
Through May 2026, the two agencies with every month so far on file reported 22 arrests, against 10 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Ellsworth County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Ellsworth County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 15 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 11 beds, and it ran at 136 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office at ellsworthcounty.org/government/sheriff_s_office/index.php (page title: Welcome to Ellsworth County, KS), phone 785-472-4416, 212 N Kansas Ave Ellsworth, KS 67439, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 4, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the Kansas Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.ks.gov/@@search?SearchableText=inmate+search.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Ellsworth County
An arrest in Ellsworth County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Ellsworth County District Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at ellsworthcounty.org/government/district_court/index.php, phone 785-472-4052); the County Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at ellsworthcounty.org/government/county_attorney/index.php, phone 785-472-4244).
Statewide, Kansas District Court Public Access Portal is the Kansas courts' statewide case search.
Kansas is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: anyone can order a name-based criminal history record check online, through the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Ellsworth County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the Kansas Open Records Act the agency must answer within 3 business days, and it may charge staff time and copying.
- An arrest by the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 785-472-4416.
- An arrest in Ellsworth, Wilson, Kanopolis or Holyrood: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the County Attorney, 785-472-4244, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Ellsworth County District Court, through the court records page at ellsworthcounty.org, phone 785-472-4052.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
Cities in Ellsworth County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for four of the five cities in Ellsworth County: Ellsworth, Wilson, Kanopolis and Holyrood. Lorraine has no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Ellsworth County District Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Ellsworth County each year?
The Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office reported 51 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the two agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 56 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Ellsworth County?
Ask the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office at 785-472-4416; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at ellsworthcounty.org.
Where are people arrested in Ellsworth County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Ellsworth County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation: anyone can order a name-based criminal history record check online. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Kansas Open Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Ellsworth County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Ellsworth County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Kansas Open Records Act the answer is due within 3 business days.
Is this the official Ellsworth 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.