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 24, 2026.
Mineral County, West Virginia, has about 27,000 residents (2024 Census Bureau estimate), and arrests there are reported to the FBI by the Mineral County Sheriff's Office, two city agencies and four 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 regional jail, and, if the Prosecuting Attorney files charges, a case in the Mineral 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: Mineral County public records, West Virginia arrest records, West Virginia inmate search and West Virginia criminal records.
Who Makes Arrests in Mineral County
The Mineral County Sheriff's Office is the county agency that reports arrests to the FBI for Mineral County. It reported 148 arrests for 2025.
The FBI lists two cities in Mineral County with a reporting agency of their own, with the Census population and what each reported:
- Keyser, 4,802 residents: 77 arrests reported for 2024.
- Ridgeley, 574 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 Mineral County: Potomac State College (campus police); the Department of Natural Resources in Mineral County and the State Fire Marshal in Mineral County (state agency); the Keyser State Police (state police).
How Many Arrests Each Agency Reports in Mineral County
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.
- Mineral County Sheriff's Office: 148 for 2025, 110 for 2024, 111 for 2022, 106 for 2021, 88 for 2020 and 91 for 2019; 2023 is missing months.
- Keyser: 77 for 2024, 137 for 2023, 124 for 2022, 193 for 2021, 108 for 2020 and 154 for 2019.
Together, the two agencies with all twelve months of 2024 on file reported 187 arrests that year. The one of them with both 2024 and 2023 complete reported 77 in 2024 against 137 in 2023, down 44 percent.
Ridgeley reported only part of 2024 (4 months) and is left out of the totals.
Booking: Where People Arrested in Mineral County Are Held
West Virginia closed its county jails in favor of regional jails run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, so a person held after an arrest in Mineral County goes to the regional jail that serves Mineral County, and the state's inmate search covers all of them.
On an average day in 2024 the jail held about 73 people, down from about 96 in 2019. Its rated capacity in 2023, the last year with a capacity figure, was 104 beds, and it ran at 70 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 Mineral County Sheriff's Office at mineralwv.gov/sheriff (page title: Sheriff's Department -), phone 304-788-0441, 105 East Street Keyser, WV 26726, which answered when SearchSystems opened it on September 24, 2026.
A sentence of more than a year is served in state prison; the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation lists its inmates at dcr.wv.gov/offendersearch/Pages/default.aspx.
How to Find Out About an Arrest in Mineral County
An arrest in Mineral County can be traced in two places, depending on where the case stands: the case index of the Mineral County Circuit Court, which shows whether charges were filed and the next court date (the court records page SearchSystems verified is at mineralwv.gov/circuit, phone 304-788-1562); the Prosecuting Attorney, which decides whether an arrest becomes a charge (its page is at mineralwv.gov/contact-us-prosecuting-attorney, phone 304-788-0300).
West Virginia does not let the public search another person's statewide criminal history. The record kept by the West Virginia State Police 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 Mineral 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 West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the agency must answer within 5 business days, and it may charge the actual cost of copying.
- An arrest by the Mineral County Sheriff's Office: ask its records unit, reached through the office at 304-788-0441.
- An arrest in Keyser or Ridgeley: the records unit of the agency that reports for that city.
- An arrest by Potomac State College, the Department of Natural Resources in Mineral County or the State Fire Marshal in Mineral County: the records office of the agency involved.
- A defendant who has been charged gets the report through the case: the Prosecuting Attorney, 304-788-0300, handles discovery for pending cases.
- The court file of a case that was filed: the Mineral County Circuit Court, through the court records page at mineralwv.gov/circuit, phone 304-788-1562.
- Your own statewide record: a fingerprint-based request to the State Police Criminal Identification Bureau.
Cities in Mineral County: Who Reports the Arrests
The FBI lists a separate arrest reporting agency for two of the five cities in Mineral County: Keyser and Ridgeley. Carpendale, Piedmont and Elk Garden have no separate reporting agency in the FBI's list.
Wherever in the county the arrest happens, a person kept in custody goes to the regional jail and the case goes to the Mineral County Circuit Court.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many arrests are made in Mineral County each year?
The Mineral County Sheriff's Office reported 148 arrests to the FBI for 2025. For 2024, the latest year most of the agencies in Mineral County sent in full, the two with every month on file reported 187 between them.
How do I find out if someone is in jail in Mineral County?
Ask the Mineral County Sheriff's Office at 304-788-0441; its jail page SearchSystems verified is at mineralwv.gov/sheriff.
Where are people arrested in Mineral County booked?
In the regional jail that serves Mineral County, run by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Are arrest records public in Mineral County?
The court files of criminal cases in the Mineral County Circuit Court are public and can be looked up through the court. The statewide criminal history kept by the West Virginia State Police is not public; you can get your own. The arrest report itself is released by the agency that made the arrest, under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
How do I get a copy of an arrest report in Mineral County?
From the agency that made the arrest: the Mineral County Sheriff's Office for its own arrests, or the agency that reports for the city where it happened. Under the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act the answer is due within 5 business days.
Is this the official Mineral 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.