Washtenaw MI-VINE Release Coverage
MI-VINE is Michigan's free and confidential custody and court-event information and notification service. It is available through VINELink, by phone, and through mobile access. Participating county jails provide custody events. MDOC supplies general release notification for state prisoners. Supported court cases can also carry event notice, though the exact display depends on the agency and record.
Coverage follows the custodian, not the county line. A person held at Washtenaw County Jail belongs to the county custody record. A prisoner at Women's Huron Valley belongs to MDOC even though that state prison is in Ypsilanti. A federal prisoner at FCI Milan does not become an MI-VINE case merely because the facility is nearby. The BOP locator is the correct public federal source.
| Washtenaw-related custody | MI-VINE role | Primary confirmation source |
|---|---|---|
| Washtenaw County Jail | Custody-event search and notice when the participating agency reports it | WCSO and the Washtenaw court record |
| Women's Huron Valley | General MDOC release notification | OTIS and MDOC |
| FCI Milan | Not the federal locator | BOP Inmate Locator and federal case |
| Washtenaw Youth Center | No public name-based release path was verified | Juvenile court, facility, authorized family, or counsel |
A search result is useful only within that scope. “Released” means the reporting agency sent a custody event. It does not by itself resolve every hold, transfer, sentence, or supervision term.
Search Washtenaw MI-VINE by Person
Open the official VINELink portal and choose Michigan before entering a name. Search for one specific person. A booking or offender number is stronger than a name alone because people can share names and similar ages. If the number is not known, compare the agency, date-of-birth-related detail, age, and case context shown for each possible match.
- Choose Michigan, then select the offender or custody search.
- Enter the person's first and last name. Add the booking or offender number when available.
- Review every plausible result. Match the agency and official number before opening the record.
- Compare age or birth-related detail and the known case context. Do not rely on a photograph or name alone.
- Open the matched record and read the current custody status, reporting location or agency, and reported event.
- If the result reports release, confirm the date and type with WCSO, MDOC, or the court. If there is no match, try a name variation and the correct sovereign's locator.
The captured MI-VINE selection and person-search screen shows the official entry point used for a Washtenaw County VINELink release check.
The live portal should be used for the current record because a screenshot cannot show later custody events.
Note: Keep the booking or offender number with the registration because a later booking may create a different person record.
Washtenaw VINELink Release Fields
MI-VINE is event-centered. The exact fields vary by the contributing agency, so no single Washtenaw County screen schema should be promised. A county result can identify the reporting jail and a custody event. An MDOC result can provide a general state release notice. The official record behind the feed remains the source for a final date, legal authority, or transfer destination.
| Field or cue | What it helps establish |
|---|---|
| Name | The person attached to the selected VINE record, subject to identity matching |
| Booking or offender number | The agency identifier that separates similar names and later bookings |
| Custody status | The current status last reported through the participating agency feed |
| Agency or location | The county jail, state agency, or other contributor responsible for the event |
| Status event | A reported release, transfer, escape, or other covered custody change |
| Notification options | The phone, text, or email channels available for that selected record |
A VINE release event is not the same as an OTIS Earliest Release Date. The OTIS date concerns when Parole Board jurisdiction may begin for a state sentence. MI-VINE reports an event through an agency feed. Neither field should be converted into a promise about where the person will be next.
- Custody event
- A change sent by the participating agency, such as release or transfer.
- Transfer
- Departure from one custodian to another, not necessarily return to the community.
- Parole
- Release from prison into MDOC-supervised community placement while legal custody continues.
- Discharge
- The end of an agency's legal jurisdiction, which is distinct from a move out of a facility.
Register for Washtenaw Release Alerts
Registration must attach to the correct matched record. Choosing a delivery channel before confirming the person can create notice about someone with the same name. Start from the open record, choose the custody events offered there, and keep the official number for later verification.
- Select notification or registration from the correct matched person record.
- Choose the relevant custody events, such as a reported release or transfer, when those options are offered.
- Select phone, text, or email and enter the delivery information carefully.
- Confirm the contact information. For telephone notice, create and retain a four-digit PIN.
- When an automated call arrives, listen to the event and enter the PIN followed by the pound sign. That acknowledges the notice and stops repeat calls for the same event.
- Text and email notice do not use the phone PIN. Update the registration when contact details change.
Michigan also provides MI-VINE by phone at 800-770-7657 and TTY at 866-847-1298. The service runs around the clock, but the freshness of a specific event still depends on the agency feed. A person who needs immediate confirmation should contact the reporting agency rather than wait for a second alert.
Confirm Washtenaw County VINE Events
For a Washtenaw County Jail event, compare MI-VINE with the Washtenaw Trial Court path and WCSO. The court can show why a release or transfer was ordered. WCSO can confirm whether the person remains in county custody, and its records-request route can produce a targeted booking and release record with the actual time, disposition, and receiving authority. The county does not publish a verified current recent-release feed.
For a state-prison event, use OTIS. A profile status of Parolee means the person left prison but remains under MDOC supervision. Discharged means state jurisdiction ended within the public OTIS window. Earliest Release Date is an eligibility-related field, not proof that release took place. Read the status header and sentence rows together.
When the search is for a person whose custodian is not yet clear, the Washtenaw County released-inmate search separates the county, state, federal, and court paths. That jurisdiction check prevents a VINELink no-result from being mistaken for release.
Washtenaw Court and Custody Alerts
MI-VINE also supports court-event notification for covered Michigan cases. Court notice and custody notice answer different questions. A court entry can report a hearing, disposition, bond action, or sentence event. The custody record reports what the jail or corrections agency sent about physical status. An order for release does not establish the exact moment WCSO completed release processing.
Use the case number to keep the two records aligned. If a court entry indicates prison commitment, the next state record may be OTIS after MDOC accepts jurisdiction. If it identifies a federal matter, move to the federal docket and BOP. If it shows local probation or a Community Corrections condition, do not describe that order as Michigan parole.
Register only for the case and person that match. Court events can continue after physical release, and a closed custody event does not necessarily close the prosecution. Keeping the notification type in the saved note or message makes later review much clearer.
Note: Court notification explains case movement, while the jail release record remains the best source for an actual county book-out time.
When Washtenaw MI-VINE Has No Match
No result is inconclusive. The name may be spelled differently, the person may have a new booking number, or the last custodian may not be the agency being searched. A released person also may no longer display the same way as an active custody record. Try verified name variations and an official number before changing systems.
Then follow the custody type. For a local arrest, check the Washtenaw court and use the county's official jail-information hub to reach the proper WCSO service. For a Michigan prison sentence, search OTIS with All, Parolees, and Discharged as appropriate. For FCI Milan or another federal sentence, use the BOP Inmate Locator. If local custody ended through an immigration handoff, the ICE Online Detainee Locator System is the separate federal path.
Older MDOC cases can also fall outside OTIS's public post-discharge window. A missing state profile does not establish a present location or prove that no sentence existed. Court records and targeted corrections records provide the older trail.
Washtenaw VINELink Release Limits
MI-VINE should not be the sole source for a legal or safety decision. Agency feeds can lag. Similar names can lead to the wrong record. A person can transfer between WCSO, MDOC, another county, USMS, or ICE, leaving one record before appearing in the next. The official number, reporting agency, event type, and time of confirmation should be kept together.
MI-VINE is not a full criminal-history database, a supervision-condition record, or a federal inmate locator. It does not turn a county release into an MDOC discharge. It also does not show that every person is subject to the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. That registry is a separate post-release system for people with an active legal registration duty, and its presence or absence does not prove a jail release.
A solid Washtenaw County release check ends with the source agency. Ask WCSO for county custody and the release sheet, MDOC for a state status, the court for the controlling order, or BOP for federal custody. MI-VINE adds timely notice and a practical way to follow one matched record, but the agency record supplies the final context.