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 September 25, 2026.
Boone, North Carolina, in Watauga County, has about 20,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate). A person kept in custody after an arrest in Boone is held at the county jail, run by the Watauga 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: Boone public records, Watauga County inmate search, Boone arrest records, Boone warrants, Boone criminal records, Boone court records, North Carolina arrest records and North Carolina inmate search.
Finding Someone in Custody in Boone
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Boone is held at the county jail, run by the Watauga County Sheriff's Office, whichever agency made the arrest.
SearchSystems opened and checked the jail page of the Watauga County Sheriff's Office at wataugacounty.org/App_Pages/Dept/Sheriff/detention.aspx (page title: Watauga County, NC), phone (828) 265-7614, 184 Hodges Gap Road Boone, NC 28607, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 23, 2026.
That page is the office's jail information page rather than a roster, so a search for a particular person goes through the office at (828) 265-7614.
The Watauga County Jail by the Numbers
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 60 people, down from about 85 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 106 beds, and it ran at 80 percent of it that year. The figures are from the Vera Institute of Justice's Incarceration Trends data.
Watauga County has about 55,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), so the jail holds about 11 people for every 10,000 residents.
Who Books People Into the Watauga County Jail
The Watauga County Sheriff's Office and the agency that reports for Boone (filed by the FBI as Boone Police Department) make the arrests that end in a booking in and around Boone.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Watauga County: Appalachian State University (campus police); the State Park Rangers at Elk Knob (state agency).
The largest arrest counts reported to the FBI were the Watauga County Sheriff's Office's 633 for 2025, Boone's 505 for 2025 and Blowing Rock's 72 for 2025.
Together, the four agencies in Watauga County with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,271 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 Boone 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 Watauga County serves the sentence in a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction, whose inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find an inmate in Boone?
Ask the Watauga County Sheriff's Office at (828) 265-7614; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wataugacounty.org.
How many people are in the Watauga County jail?
About 60 on an average day in 2024, the latest year in the Vera Institute's jail data, against a rated capacity of 106 beds.
What is the phone number for the Watauga County jail?
(828) 265-7614, the number on the page of the Watauga County Sheriff's Office SearchSystems verified.
Where do people sentenced to prison in Watauga County go?
To a facility of the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction; its inmate locator is at dac.nc.gov.
Is this the official Boone website?
No. SearchSystems.net is an independent public records guide, online since 1997. It links to the official city, county, court and state offices described above and does not hold records, charge for them or take requests.