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 24, 2026 and October 9, 2026.
Wheeler County, Oregon, has about 1,500 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Wheeler County Sheriff's Office 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 Wheeler County Circuit 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: Wheeler County public records, Oregon arrest records, Oregon inmate search and Oregon criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Wheeler County
The Wheeler County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Wheeler County. It reported 8 arrests for 2025.
The FBI's agency list also places these agencies in Wheeler County: the Wheeler County State Police (state police); the Wheeler County Liquor Commission (state agency).
How Many Arrests The Wheeler County Sheriff's Office Reports
The FBI publishes every agency's monthly arrest counts 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.
- Wheeler County Sheriff's Office: 8 for 2025 and 16 for 2024.
Through April 2026, Wheeler County Sheriff's Office reported 4 arrests, against 3 in the same months of 2025.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Wheeler County Are Held
A person kept in custody after an arrest in Wheeler County is held at the county jail, whichever agency made the arrest, apart from the short stay some city departments' own holding cells allow; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked at all. The jail's record of each person held, with the charges, is a public record of the arrest, and the court file takes over from there.
On an average day in 2023 the jail held about 1 people, down from about 3 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2019, the last year with a capacity figure, was 8 beds, and it ran at 42 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 Wheeler County Sheriff's Office at wheelercountyoregon.com/sheriffs-office (page title: Wheeler County | Sheriff's Office), phone (541) 763-4101, 701 Adams St. P.O. Box 447 Fossil, OR 97830, Monday - Thursday 8:00 am - 12:00 pm, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on October 9, 2026.
A person sentenced to prison serves the sentence in a facility of the Oregon Department of Corrections, whose inmate locator is at oregon.gov/doc/victim-services/pages/offender-search.aspx.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Wheeler County
An arrest in Wheeler County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Wheeler County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at courts.oregon.gov/courts/wheeler/pages/default.aspx, phone 541-763-2541); the District Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at wheelercountyoregon.com/district-attorney, phone (541) 763-4207).
Statewide, Oregon eCourt Case Information is the Oregon Judicial Department's online case search, free for basic case information.
Oregon is one of the states that lets anyone look up another person's statewide criminal history: an Open Record Request returns anyone's Oregon conviction record by name, and the subject is told who asked, for $10 a search, through the Oregon State Police. That record shows what agencies reported to the state, which is wider than one county's court index but can lag it.
Getting a Copy of an Arrest Record in Wheeler County
An arrest report belongs to the agency whose officer wrote it, and that agency releases it, not the court or the jail. Under the Oregon Public Records Law the agency must answer within 15 business days where practicable, after acknowledging the request within 5, and it may charge the actual cost of making the record available.
- An arrest by the Wheeler County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at (541) 763-4101.
- An arrest by the Wheeler County State Police or the Wheeler County Liquor Commission: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the District Attorney, (541) 763-4207, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Wheeler County Circuit Court, through the court records page at courts.oregon.gov, phone 541-763-2541.
- Your own statewide record: the same request described above, for your own name.
The other Wheeler County guides go further: warrants, criminal records, court records, police reports, traffic tickets, DUI, divorce records and property records.
Cities in Wheeler County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists no city in Wheeler County with an arrest reporting agency of its own; the counts above are the county agencies'.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the county jail and the case goes to the Wheeler County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Wheeler County each year?
The Wheeler County Sheriff's Office reported 8 arrests to the FBI for 2025, its latest full year.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Wheeler County?
Ask the Wheeler County Sheriff's Office at (541) 763-4101; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at wheelercountyoregon.com/sheriffs-office.
Where are people arrested in Wheeler County booked?
Those kept in custody go to the county jail, run by the Wheeler County Sheriff's Office; a person cited and released at the scene is not booked.
Are arrest records public in Wheeler County?
The court files of criminal cases are public, and so is the statewide criminal history kept by the Oregon State Police: an Open Record Request returns anyone's Oregon conviction record by name, and the subject is told who asked, for $10. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the Oregon Public Records Law.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Wheeler County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Wheeler County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the Oregon Public Records Law the answer is due within 15 business days where practicable, after acknowledging the request within 5.
Is this the official Wheeler 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.