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 October 2, 2026.
Wadena County, Minnesota, has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wadena County is held at the county jail, run by the Wadena 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 and common questions.
Related guides: Wadena County public records, Wadena County arrest records, Wadena County warrants, Wadena County criminal records, Wadena County court records, Minnesota arrest records and Minnesota inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Wadena County
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wadena County is held at the county jail, run by the Wadena County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the custody page of the Wadena County Sheriff's Office at wadenacounty.gov/204/In-Custody-List (page title: In Custody List | Wadena County, MN), 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 Wadena County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2021 the jail held about 14 people, down from about 25 in 2019. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Wadena County has about 14,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 10 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Wadena County Jail
The Wadena County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Wadena, Menahga and Sebeka make the arrests that end in a booking in Wadena County.
The Staples Police Department is listed by the FBI across two counties including Wadena County, so its arrests are not broken out for Wadena County here.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Wadena's 134 for 2025, the Wadena County Sheriff's Office's 91 for 2025 and Menahga's 15 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Wadena County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 240 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 Wadena County arrest records.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Wadena County?
Look on the custody page of the Wadena County Sheriff's Office at wadenacounty.gov/204/In-Custody-List. It covers people booked into the county jail.
How many people are in the Wadena County jail?
About 14 on an average day in 2021, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data.
Is this the official Wadena 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.