Garfield County Jail Release Paths
A local detainee may leave Garfield County Jail after bond, release on recognizance, dismissal, time served, or another court order. Those outcomes generally return the person to the community. Yet a departure can also be a transfer to another jail or to the Utah Department of Corrections. A transfer ends physical custody at the Panguitch building but is not a release from confinement. Because the official jail site does not publish local release-reason codes, the sheriff's booking and release record is the strongest county source for the date, time, and authority recorded for the departure.
Legal authority matters more than the building. Garfield County Jail holds ordinary local detainees and also has beds available under a UDC contract. A state prisoner housed there remains a state prisoner. UDC reports that almost all state prisoners housed in contract county jails are taken to Utah State Correctional Facility for the release process, and direct release from a contract jail is extremely rare. Check UDC status and the controlling Board order before treating a Garfield County Jail departure as community release.
A person who leaves Garfield County Jail may still be confined elsewhere. Confirm whether the record says community release or transfer.
Confirm a Garfield Jail Release
The official Garfield County Jail page provides contact information, but it does not display a current roster, booking table, or recent-release archive. A previously cited inmate-booking address now returns an error. Its absence proves only that the page is unavailable. It says nothing about one person's custody status. A careful check uses the county record first, then adds state or court sources when the facts point beyond a local booking.
- Call Garfield County Jail and ask whether the named person is presently in county custody. If not, ask whether staff can disclose whether the last departure was community release or transfer.
- Request the existing booking and release record from the Sheriff's Office. Identify the person, approximate booking date, and booking or SO number when known.
- Search the UDC Offender Search if a state sentence or contract placement may apply. A parolee result supports release from prison into supervision; an inmate result means state custody continues.
- Review the correct Garfield court case for the order or disposition. The court action explains legal authority, but it may not match the minute jail staff completed the departure.
- Use Utah VINE for a custody-change check or notification when the person and agency are covered. Allow for reporting delay and verify the event with the record creator.
The broader Garfield County released inmate search explains how the sheriff record, UDC status, Board decision, court history, VINE, and federal systems answer different questions. A negative state search does not prove local release because UDC excludes ordinary county detainees awaiting trial or sentence.
Garfield Jail Records Contact
Use the jail number for an immediate custody question. Use a focused GRAMA request when durable proof is needed. GRAMA is Utah's Government Records Access and Management Act. The Sheriff's Office may release public portions, redact restricted material, deny with a legal reason, or state that it does not keep the requested record. The agency need not create a custom report.
Garfield County Sheriff's Office and Jail375 North 700 West
Panguitch, UT 84759
Jail mailing address: P.O. Box 370
Phone: 435-676-2678
Jail commander: Jason Miller
Email: jason.miller@garfield.utah.gov
The jail publishes visiting hours Thursday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Those are not records or release-processing hours. No official source reviewed publishes routine release times, the release exit, a family waiting area, weekend procedures, or transportation service. Call before traveling.
For a written request, use the Sheriff's GRAMA instructions and official PDF form. Ask for the existing booking/release record, including booking number, booking and release timestamps, release authority or type, charges, court or case number, and any field that distinguishes transfer from community release. Electronic delivery may reduce delay and cost.
Garfield Release Request Address
The records form and jail page give different post office boxes. The official GRAMA form directs completed requests to Garfield County Sheriff's Office, 375 N. 700 W., P.O. Box 375, Panguitch, UT 84759, or to Tom.Talbot@garfield.utah.gov. The jail page instead lists P.O. Box 370. Use Box 375 for the records form because that address appears on the form itself, but confirm the mailing route by calling 435-676-2678 when timing matters.
The local instructions say the office has up to ten business days to respond. That is a response deadline, not a promise that every record will be produced within ten days. A response may grant access, deny access with authority, seek clarification, provide a cost estimate, report that the record is not maintained, or invoke a lawful extension. Ask for segregable public portions if part of a Garfield County Jail release record is withheld.
Published fees include $10 for the first ten black-and-white pages and $0.25 for each later page, $0.50 per color page, $25 for photos on a CD, and $2 per printed photo page. Broader searches may add direct staff costs. Request an estimate before chargeable work begins.
Garfield Jail Contract Releases
The county jail's state-contract role is a distinctive part of release research in Garfield County. The UDC county-jail report lists 114 total beds, 96 contracted beds, and 96 beds available for Corrections prisoners. It identifies the placement as serving men. These figures show why physical departure cannot be treated as proof of release: a substantial part of the facility's capacity is tied to state custody.
A county detainee and a UDC contract prisoner can occupy the same facility while following different legal paths. The county detainee's release is documented by the sheriff and the court. The state prisoner's parole, termination, or expiration is controlled by UDC and the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole. If the person is moved to USCF, the Garfield County Jail stay has ended, but incarceration has not.
The official jail image below comes from the Garfield County Sheriff's jail page.
The captured page supports the facility identity and contact route while also showing why a separate release-record request is needed.
Garfield Release Versus Transfer
Read each source for the narrow fact it can prove. The jail record can document when the local booking ended and how staff coded the departure. A court docket may show dismissal, sentence, time served, probation, or another order. UDC status can show whether state incarceration or supervision continues. No one source should be stretched to answer all three questions.
| Result | What it means | Best confirmation |
|---|---|---|
| Community release | The local custody event ended through bond, dismissal, time served, or another order. | Sheriff release record plus court case |
| Transfer | The person left Panguitch but remained under another custodian. | Sheriff departure record and receiving authority |
| State parole | The person left prison but remains under UDC supervision. | UDC legal status and Board decision |
| Full discharge | The state sentence and supervision ended. | Board, UDC records, or sentencing court history |
Discharge means the controlling sentence or supervision has ended. Parole is different. It allows a person to live in the community under conditions while the state sentence continues. A person may therefore be released from prison and still appear in UDC's current-supervision search.
Garfield Release Court Records
Garfield County has three relevant court identities in Panguitch. Sixth District Court handles felonies and class A misdemeanors. Garfield County Justice Court handles many class B and C misdemeanor and infraction matters filed by the Sheriff's Office, Utah Highway Patrol, and Division of Wildlife Resources. Panguitch City Justice Court is separately identified even though it shares the justice clerk, address, and phone. Search the court that handled the charge.
Utah Courts XChange is the public case-history route. A case number gives the cleanest search. Otherwise, combine the name with birth date, court, case type, or date range to reduce same-name error. The record may show the plea, disposition, judgment, sentence, and chronological proceedings. It still does not establish the exact jail release-processing time.
A court order and physical departure are separate events. Jail staff may need time to process an authorized release. In the other direction, a person can leave Garfield County Jail on transfer even though the local case remains active. Compare court history with the sheriff release record.
Note: Sealed, expunged, juvenile, and other nonpublic cases may not appear in XChange, so a missing result does not prove release.
Garfield Jail Reentry Programs
The UDC county-jail report documents programs at Garfield County Jail that add context to some custody stays. It lists a 42-seat intensive outpatient substance-use treatment program called Dare to Soar, along with After Care. Reported FY2024 results include 63 successful Dare to Soar transitions and 11 high-school or completion diplomas. Other listed offerings include relapse prevention, life skills, parenting, Success After Prison, cognitive behavioral work on substance use and criminal thinking, and Getting Out By Going In.
These are facility programs, not release codes. They are not guaranteed for every detainee, and their presence does not prove that a named person participated or completed a course. A program transition also should not be described as legal release. Use the person's Garfield County Jail record, court case, and, where relevant, UDC status to establish the actual custody outcome.
Search Garfield Release Records
Start with the system that held the person. Use the Garfield County Sheriff's Office for a local booking, UDC for a state prisoner, and the court record for the order behind the custody change. Names can match, data can lag, and a missing result can have several explanations. Confirm identifiers before relying on any record.