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.
Watauga County, North Carolina, has about 55,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Watauga County Sheriff's Office, four city agencies and two campus, state or other agencies. An arrest leaves the same records whoever makes it: the arresting agency's report, the record of anyone held at the county jail, and, if the District Attorney files charges, a case in the Watauga County Superior Court. This guide says who keeps each one, what it costs and who may see it, with the arrest counts each agency reported.
This guide covers who makes arrests, how many arrests, booking and the jail, finding an arrest, copies, cities and common questions.
Related guides: Watauga County public records, North Carolina arrest records, North Carolina inmate search and North Carolina criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Watauga County
The Watauga County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Watauga County. It reported 633 arrests for 2025.
Arrests inside four of the county's cities are reported to the FBI by an agency of the city's own, listed here with the Census population and what each reported:
- Boone, 20,080 residents: 505 arrests reported for 2025.
- Blowing Rock, 1,336 residents: 72 arrests reported for 2025.
- Beech Mountain, 658 residents: 61 arrests reported for 2025.
- Seven Devils, 316 residents.
A city on that list is reported separately whether the officers are the city's own or the sheriff's under contract; the FBI's list does not say which.
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).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Watauga County
Each agency reports its arrests to the FBI by month, and the FBI publishes them on the Crime Data Explorer. These are the full-year totals, all offenses, as the FBI held them on October 8, 2026; a year with months missing or not reported is left out.
- Watauga County Sheriff's Office: 633 for 2025, 576 for 2024, 658 for 2023, 654 for 2022, 676 for 2021 and 754 for 2020.
- Boone: 505 for 2025, 375 for 2024, 433 for 2023, 516 for 2022, 390 for 2021 and 431 for 2020.
- Blowing Rock: 72 for 2025, 37 for 2024, 41 for 2023, 69 for 2022, 67 for 2021 and 54 for 2020.
- Beech Mountain: 61 for 2025, 29 for 2024, 23 for 2022, 20 for 2021, 17 for 2020 and 17 for 2019; 2023 is missing months.
Together, the four agencies with all twelve months of 2025 on file reported 1,271 arrests that year. The same agencies with both 2025 and 2024 complete reported 1,271 in 2025 against 1,017 in 2024, up 25 percent.
Through August 2026, the three agencies with every month so far on file reported 870 arrests, against 768 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Watauga County Are Held
The county jail is where a person arrested in Watauga County and kept in custody ends up, whichever agency made the arrest, though a city department may hold someone in its own cells first and a person cited and released at the scene is never booked. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and once the person is released or sentenced the record continues in the court file.
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.
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.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction lists its inmates at dac.nc.gov/dac-services/criminal-offender-searches.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Watauga County
An arrest in Watauga County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Watauga County Superior Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at nccourts.gov/locations/watauga-county); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at wataugacounty.org/app_pages/dept/DA/home.aspx, phone 828-268-6610).
Statewide, eCourts Portal is the North Carolina Judicial Branch's free statewide case search.
North Carolina does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation goes to the person it belongs to and to employers and agencies the law authorizes; for everyone else the court's own case index is the public record of an arrest that led to a charge.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Watauga County
The report of an arrest is released by the agency that made it; the jail and the court hold their own records of the same event, but not the report. Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the agency must answer as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Watauga County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (828) 265-7614.
- An arrest in Boone, Blowing Rock, Beech Mountain or Seven Devils: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city; the city guides linked above name each city's records office.
- An arrest by Appalachian State University or the State Park Rangers at Elk Knob: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, 828-268-6610, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Watauga County Superior Court, through the court records page at nccourts.gov/locations/watauga-county.
- Your own statewide record: a Right to Review request, fingerprint-based, to the State Bureau of Investigation.
Cities in Watauga County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for every one of the four cities in Watauga County: Boone, Blowing Rock, Beech Mountain and Seven Devils.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Watauga County Superior Court.
SearchSystems has a guide to the offices of these cities in Watauga County, with the 2024 Census Bureau population; a city with its own arrest records guide opens there:
- Boone (20,080)
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Watauga County each year?
The Watauga County Sheriff's Office reported 633 arrests to the FBI for 2025, and the four agencies with every month of 2025 on file reported 1,271 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Watauga County?
Ask the Watauga County Sheriff's Office at (828) 265-7614; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wataugacounty.org.
Where are people arrested in Watauga County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Watauga County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Watauga County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Watauga County Superior Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the North Carolina Public Records Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Watauga County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Watauga County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the North Carolina Public Records Act the answer is due as promptly as possible; the statute sets no number of days.
Is this the official Watauga 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.