Ouray County Inmate Population
The most important local fact is that Ouray County does not appear in the official sources as a county with its own full jail facility or public Ouray-hosted roster. A Colorado Legislative Council overview of county jails says Ouray is one of the Colorado counties that contracts with other county jails. The local sources match that statewide note. The Ouray County Sheriff's Office sends jail-information users to Montrose County Sheriff's Office jail pages, and the 2023 Ouray-Montrose detention agreement states that Montrose County provides detention services for Ouray County inmates.
That structure changes how the Ouray County inmate population should be read. A person arrested in Ouray County may be cited and released, held briefly, booked into Montrose County Jail, released on bond, or later moved to a court or state prison process. The county count is therefore contract-housed, not a local jail count. Once a person receives a state-prison sentence, the correct search changes from the county jail roster to the Colorado Department of Corrections locator. Federal and immigration cases also move outside the county jail path.
Custody flow: Ouray County arrest or warrant custody leads to booking or release, then Montrose County Jail when detention is needed, then Ouray court, bond, release, local sentence, or state/federal transfer.
Ouray County Inmate Population Statistics
The strongest Ouray-specific number in the research comes from January 10, 2023 Board of County Commissioners minutes, which recorded that the average number of Ouray inmates at Montrose County Jail varied between 3 and 9. The strongest current facility figures come from the Montrose County Jail history page, which says the 2024 remodel left the jail with room for up to 178 inmate beds and that the total jail population averages 60 to 130 people on a given day. Those are not Ouray-only figures; they describe the serving jail.
| Measure | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Ouray owned jail capacity | 0 stand-alone public jail located | Colorado Legislative Council overview, 2017 |
| Contract serving jail | Montrose County Jail | Ouray-Montrose detention agreement, 2023 |
| Ouray inmates at Montrose | 3 to 9 average | Ouray BOCC minutes, Jan. 10, 2023 |
| Montrose jail capacity | Up to 178 inmate beds | Montrose jail history, 2024 remodel |
| Montrose total jail population | 60 to 130 on a given day | Montrose jail history page |
| Ouray County population | About 4,530 | Ouray County About page |
Ouray County Inmate Population Trends
The trend record is thin because no official daily Ouray-only jail dashboard was located. The available sources still show a clear pattern: Ouray has long relied on contract jail housing, the 2023 agreement continued the Montrose detention path, and the serving jail was remodeled in 2024. That means a current Ouray County inmate population review should not look for an Ouray jail expansion or a separate Ouray jail census unless a new official source is later published.
| Year or Date | Population or Capacity Point | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ouray contracts with other county jails | Colorado Legislative Council county-jail overview |
| 2017 | Montrose listed at 135 capacity and 76 daily population | Older statewide table, not current local capacity |
| Jan. 10, 2023 | Ouray average varied between 3 and 9 at Montrose | Ouray BOCC minutes |
| 2023 | $65 daily contract rate, $38 short-hold fee | Ouray-Montrose detention agreement |
| 2024 | Montrose room for up to 178 beds | Jail remodel and history page |
| June 1, 2026 research | Montrose average 60 to 130 total inmates | Serving jail history page |
The county should not be described as overcrowded from these records alone. The research did not locate an Ouray jail crowding order, consent decree, or local jail litigation. The more precise finding is that Montrose may refuse Ouray inmates if the facility is beyond lawful capacity, a capacity clause built into the contract.
Who Makes Up Ouray County Custody
Official sources did not publish an Ouray-only breakdown by sex, race, age, charge level, or pretrial status. The detention agreement gives the clearest description of who may count toward the Ouray County inmate population at Montrose. It covers people presented by the Ouray County Sheriff or an agent for detention for any lawful reason. That includes people awaiting arraignment or transport, awaiting adjudication, serving a sentence, awaiting release after arrest, or held after conviction.
- Pretrial detainees: People held after arrest while charges, bond, or first appearances are pending.
- Local sentence inmates: People serving a jail sentence under the contract facility's rules.
- Warrant custody: People arrested on a warrant who may be booked at Montrose if not released.
- State-prison transfers: People sentenced to prison leave the county jail path and move to CDOC custody.
- Federal or immigration matters: These require BOP, ICE, or court-specific channels after transfer or separate processing.
For local context, the Ouray County Sheriff's annual report describes a small mountain county agency with day and night shifts and limited staffing, while still keeping a deputy on duty or on call at all times. City of Ouray law-enforcement coverage was being provided by the Sheriff's Office while the city rebuilt its police department, so a city arrest can still end up in the same county or regional custody path.
Ouray County Inmate Population Laws
Colorado law separates general public records from criminal justice records. That matters for Ouray County inmate population searches because a roster entry, booking photo, incident report, court record, and jail population figure may sit with different custodians. The Ouray County CORA page says general public records are usually open within three working days, with a seven-working-day extension in certain cases, but Sheriff criminal justice records follow the CCJRA route.
Key Statutes:
Colorado Open Records Act sets the general public-record process used by Ouray County for non-criminal-justice records.
Colorado Criminal Justice Records Act governs Sheriff and law-enforcement records, including records of official action.
C.R.S. 24-72-305.5 defines booking photographs and limits criminal justice record inspection for direct solicitation or pecuniary gain.
C.R.S. Title 17, Article 26 covers county jail duties and use of a jail in another county.
Death in Custody Reporting Act data covers certain deaths in custody, under arrest, or during transport for federal reporting purposes.
Search Ouray County Inmate Population
The public lookup starts with the Montrose County Sheriff's Office inmate list, because Montrose is the contract jail for Ouray County custody. The inspected list is a current inmate offense list by name. It did not show an interactive search form in the text-rendered view, so users may need to use browser find on the page, search spelling variants, and call the booking desk when an arrest is recent or a name does not appear.
The official roster is only one access channel. If the person was just arrested, call Montrose booking. If the arrest happened in Ouray County and the Montrose list does not help, call the Ouray County Sheriff or non-emergency dispatch. If the person has been sentenced to state prison, use the Colorado DOC offender search. Federal prisoners use the BOP inmate locator, and immigration detainees use ICE ODLS.
- Open the Montrose County inmate list and search the page for the last name.
- Check spelling variants, aliases, and middle initials if the name is common or not found.
- Read each listed offense line for booking number, name number, statute, charge, court code, offense code, and class.
- Call Montrose booking at 970-252-4072 if the arrest is recent, bond is needed, or the list has no match.
- Search CDOC, BOP, ICE, or VINELink when the person may be outside local jail custody.
Ouray County Current Inmate Lookup
The Montrose public list is narrower than many jail profile systems. It can help confirm that a person appears on the current list and show the listed offenses, but it does not display mugshots, bond amounts, housing unit, court date, release date, or full demographic data in the inspected text view. Those missing facts are not proof that a person is not in custody. They are signs that phone, court, or records-request channels may be needed.
The Montrose inmate list page is a fitting image source for this lookup path. The screenshot below shows the current inmate offense list used for people housed at Montrose County Jail, including contract Ouray inmates when they are listed in the same custody system.
Because the roster is a list view, the safest follow-up is to verify active custody with the jail before posting bond, sending money, or planning a visit.
| Field Label | Type | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search form | N/A | N/A | No visible search box, dropdown, pagination, export, or login in the inspected text-rendered page |
| Booking # | Static record field | N/A | Numeric booking identifier |
| Name | Static record field | N/A | Last, first, middle or initial format |
| Name Number | Static record field | N/A | Internal person or name identifier |
| Statute | Table column | N/A | Colorado Revised Statutes or local code citation |
| Offense / Court / Class | Table columns | N/A | Charge text, court code, offense code, and level or class |
Ouray County Released Inmate Records
No official source reviewed stated how long a released person remains on the Montrose current inmate list. For an older Ouray County booking, use the custodian that created or holds the record. The Ouray Sheriff page links the Sheriff's records request form for criminal justice records. The form asks for the person of record, aliases, date of birth, report date, requester data, and whether the request is for a report, mug shot, or background. The Sheriff fee sheet says a standard request is $15 and includes 30 minutes of research plus up to five pages.
For Montrose-generated jail records, the Montrose records page is the direct channel for criminal justice records, jail records, and related checks. For court records after a release, use the Colorado Judicial docket search, CoCourts where a paid register-of-action search is appropriate, or the Ouray Combined Court clerk.
Ouray County Inmate Record Fields
A public current-inmate entry is best read as a custody and charge clue, not as a full criminal history. Booking charges may change after prosecutor review, and court charge records may show a different status from the jail list. A court code on the jail roster points to the court or case channel, but it does not replace the court docket.
| Field | What It Shows |
|---|---|
| Booking # | Numeric identifier tied to the current jail booking. |
| Name | Person listed in last-name-first format. |
| Name Number | Internal identifier used by the jail system. |
| Statute | Code citation tied to the listed offense. |
| Offense text | Plain-language charge or offense description. |
| Court code | Abbreviated court or case-routing code. |
| Mugshot, bond, housing, court date | Not visible in the inspected roster; use records, jail, or court channels. |
Ouray County Jail vs Prison Search
County jail and state prison searches answer different questions. Montrose County Jail covers current local detention, pretrial custody, short local sentences, and Ouray contract housing. CDOC covers sentenced state-prison custody. BOP and ICE are separate federal systems. When a person vanishes from the local list after sentencing, the next step is often CDOC, not another Ouray roster.
| County or Regional Jail | State Prison | |
|---|---|---|
| Who is held | Pretrial detainees, local sentences, warrant holds, and release processing | People sentenced to Colorado prison |
| Primary Ouray source | Montrose County Jail list and booking desk | Colorado Department of Corrections offender search |
| Record focus | Booking, current custody, listed offenses | DOC number, prison custody, parole-related data where available |
| Common gap | No mugshot, bond, housing, or court date in inspected list | Not for new Ouray County jail bookings |
- Booking
- Formal jail intake after arrest, usually including identity checks, charge entry, property, and custody decisions.
- Detainer
- A hold or request from another agency that may block release after local bond is addressed.
- PR bond
- Personal recognizance release, based on a promise to appear and conditions set by the court.
- DOC
- Colorado Department of Corrections, the state prison system for sentenced prisoners.
State and Federal Inmate Search
Colorado's statewide prison search is the CDOC offender search, also linked by the Colorado.gov Find an Inmate service. CDOC search fields include DOC number, last name, first name, gender, and CAPTCHA. The research did not locate a CDOC prison in Ouray County.
For custody alerts, Colorado VINE and VINELink Colorado can send release, transfer, escape, or death notifications where the person and facility are covered. VINE is free and available at all hours, but it warns users not to rely only on alerts for safety planning. Federal prisoners are searched through BOP by name or number. Immigration detainees are searched through ICE ODLS by A-number and country or exact biographical data.
Ouray County Detention Facilities
The facility map has one facility for this build. There is no separate official Ouray County jail, city jail, state prison, federal prison, ICE facility, or work-release annex in the reviewed official sources. The serving facility is in Montrose and holds Ouray County inmates under contract.
- Montrose County Jail - regional county jail operated by the Montrose County Sheriff's Office for Montrose County inmates and contracted Ouray County inmates.
Ouray County Inmate Population FAQ
How large is the Ouray County inmate population?
The best Ouray-specific number located was a January 10, 2023 BOCC note that the average number of Ouray inmates at Montrose varied between 3 and 9. The serving Montrose jail is much larger, with room for up to 178 beds after the 2024 remodel and an average total population of 60 to 130.
Where is the Ouray County jail roster?
Official Ouray sources do not publish a separate Ouray jail roster. Ouray's Sheriff page links jail information to Montrose County, so the public custody lookup starts with the Montrose County Sheriff's Office inmate list.
Can released Ouray inmates be searched online?
No official source reviewed stated a released-inmate archive for Ouray County. Older booking, mugshot, or report records usually require a Sheriff, Montrose jail, or court records request, depending on which office holds the record.
Does the roster show booking photos?
The inspected Montrose current inmate offense list did not show booking photos. The Ouray Sheriff's records request form has a mug shot checkbox, so a records request is the documented official path when release is allowed.