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.
Butler County, Missouri, has about 42,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Butler County is held at the county jail, run by the Butler 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: Butler County public records, Butler County arrest records, Butler County warrants, Butler County criminal records, Butler County court records, Missouri arrest records and Missouri inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Butler County
The county jail, run by the Butler County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Butler County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Butler County Sheriff's Office at butlersheriff.org/jail-facilities (page title: Jail Facilities | Butler County Sheriff’s Office), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Butler County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2019 the jail held about 15 people. Its rated capacity in 2019 was 148 beds, and it ran at 10 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Butler County has about 42,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 4 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Butler County Jail
The Butler County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Poplar Bluff and Qulin make the arrests that end in a booking in Butler County.
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Poplar Bluff's 951 for 2025, the Butler County Sheriff's Office's 352 for 2025 and Qulin's 0 for 2025.
Together, the three agencies in Butler County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,303 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 Butler 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 Missouri Department of Corrections lists its inmates at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Butler County?
Ask the Butler County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at butlersheriff.org/jail-facilities.
How many people are in the Butler County jail?
About 15 on an average day in 2019, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 148 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Butler County go?
To a facility of the Missouri Department of Corrections; its inmate locator is at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
Is this the official Butler 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.