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 on September 23, 2026.
Otsego County, Michigan, has about 26,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Otsego County is held at the county jail, run by the Otsego 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: Otsego County public records, Otsego County arrest records, Otsego County warrants, Otsego County criminal records, Otsego County court records, Michigan arrest records and Michigan inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Otsego County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Otsego County is held at the county jail, run by the Otsego County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Otsego County Sheriff's Office at otsegocountymi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/3509/Inmate-List-2-20-26 (page title: 20925 05/14/1976 M | Male Cell 2 W | White 11/16/2025 20689 04/07/1988 M | Male), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
Someone booked recently shows on that page; someone cited and released at the scene, or held a few hours at a city station, does not.
The Otsego County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2020 the jail held about 33 people, down from about 43 in 2017. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Otsego County has about 26,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 13 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Otsego County Jail
The Otsego County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Gaylord make the arrests that end in a booking in Otsego County.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Otsego County: the Otsego County State Police (state police); Kirtland Community College at Gaylord (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Gaylord's 322 for 2025 and the Otsego County Sheriff's Office's 239 for 2025.
Together, the two agencies in Otsego County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 561 arrests to the FBI that year. 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 Otsego 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 Michigan Department of Corrections lists its inmates at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Otsego County?
Look on the custody page of the Otsego County Sheriff's Office at otsegocountymi.gov. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Otsego County jail?
About 33 on an average day in 2020, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Otsego County go?
To a facility of the Michigan Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at mdocweb.state.mi.us/otis2.
Is this the official Otsego 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.