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 2, 2026.
Thomas County, Kansas, has about 7,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Thomas County is held at the county jail, run by the Thomas 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: Thomas County public records, Thomas County arrest records, Thomas County warrants, Thomas County police reports, Thomas County property records, Kansas arrest records and Kansas inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Thomas County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Thomas County is held at the county jail, run by the Thomas County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Thomas County Sheriff's Office at thomascountysheriffsoffice.com/jail/jail-roster (page title: Inmates | Thomas County Sheriffs Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
That page is the place to look for someone booked recently. A person cited and released at the scene, or held only a few hours by a city department, will not be on it.
The Thomas County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2022 the jail held about 19 people, down from about 23 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 15 beds, and it ran at 153 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Thomas County has about 7,800 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 24 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Thomas County Jail
The Thomas County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Colby make the arrests that end in a booking in Thomas County.
The Oakley Police Department is listed by the FBI across three counties including Thomas County, so its arrests are not broken out for Thomas County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Thomas County Sheriff's Office's 160 for 2024 and Colby's 59 for 2025.
Colby reported 59 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 Thomas County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison, not the jail; the Kansas Department of Corrections lists its inmates at doc.ks.gov/@@search?SearchableText=inmate+search.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Thomas County?
Look on the custody page of the Thomas County Sheriff's Office at thomascountysheriffsoffice.com. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Thomas County jail?
About 19 on an average day in 2022, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 15 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Thomas County go?
To a facility of the Kansas Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at doc.ks.gov.
Is this the official Thomas 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.