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.
Phelps County, Missouri, has about 46,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Phelps County is held at the county jail, run by the Phelps 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: Phelps County public records, Phelps County arrest records, Phelps County warrants, Phelps County criminal records, Phelps County court records, Missouri arrest records and Missouri inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Phelps County
The county jail, run by the Phelps County Sheriff's Office, holds everyone kept in custody after an arrest in Phelps County, from every agency.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Phelps County Sheriff's Office at phelpscountysheriff.com/corrections (page title: Corrections | Phelps County Sheriff's Department), which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster.
The Phelps County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 210 people, up from about 200 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023 was 263 beds, and it ran at 79 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Phelps County has about 46,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 45 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Phelps County Jail
The Phelps County Sheriff's Office and the agencies that report for Rolla, St. James, Doolittle, Newburg and Edgar Springs make the arrests that end in a booking in Phelps County.
The FBI's agency list also places one more agency in Phelps County: Missouri University of Science and Technology (campus police).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were Rolla's 881 for 2025, the Phelps County Sheriff's Office's 241 for 2025 and St. James's 96 for 2025.
Together, the five agencies in Phelps County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,218 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 Phelps County arrest records.
From the Jail to State Prison
The jail holds people awaiting trial and people serving short sentences. A person sentenced to prison in Phelps County serves the sentence in a facility of the Missouri Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at web.mo.gov/doc/offSearchWeb.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Phelps County?
Ask the Phelps County Sheriff's Office; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at phelpscountysheriff.com/corrections.
How many people are in the Phelps County jail?
About 210 on an average day in 2023, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 263 beds.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Phelps 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 Phelps 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.