Bay ICE Release Destinations
An ICE custody outcome can be release under immigration conditions, transfer to another ICE detention site, removal from the United States, or a handoff involving another authority. Those outcomes are not interchangeable. The Online Detainee Locator System, called ODLS, is designed to locate current detainees and certain recent ICE releases. It is not a permanent Bay County release archive.
When the path begins at Bay County Jail, the first event is the end of BCSO custody. If ICE accepts the person, that county event is a transfer, not freedom in the community. The second event occurs when ICE later changes custody. Preserve both dates and both agencies. A person can be absent from BCSO’s current search because of an ICE handoff while still being detained elsewhere.
Confirm a Bay ICE Release
Begin with the BCSO booking and request the release type, release time, holds or detainers, and receiving agency. An ICE detainer asks the jail to notify ICE before ordinary release and may ask for custody to continue for up to 48 hours beyond the time the person would otherwise leave. A detainer is a request. It does not itself prove that ICE accepted custody.
Once the record identifies ICE or another immigration clue, use ODLS. Search with the nine-digit A-number and country of birth when known. The alternate method uses exact first and last name, country of birth, and an optional birth date. ICE states that ODLS excludes people under 18 and covers current detainees plus people released from ICE custody within the prior 60 days.
- Match the BCSO booking by name, birth date, booking number, and case number.
- Ask BCSO whether departure was community release or transfer and request the receiving agency.
- Search the ICE Online Detainee Locator by A-number or exact biographical data.
- Record the result and access date, then contact ICE when identity is certain but the status remains unclear.
- Keep the county departure, ICE arrival, and later ICE outcome as distinct events.
The Bay County release search covers the BCSO records request and court cross-check needed before the ICE branch begins.
Bay ICE Custody Contacts
No currently listed dedicated ICE detention facility was found in Bay County. That means there is no truthful Bay ICE jail address to publish. The official ODLS is the first locator, and BCSO remains the source for the local transfer record. ICE guidance limits the locator's released-person coverage to the prior sixty days.
Search by A-number and country of birth, or exact name and country of birth
No dedicated Bay County ICE facility identified
BCSO remains the source for the local transfer record. Its public-records custodian is Beth Nelson at 3421 N. Highway 77, Panama City, FL 32405, (850) 747-4700, fax (850) 914-2093, and beth.nelson@bayso.org. Ask for the receiving agency and transfer timestamp rather than asking BCSO to certify what ICE did later.
Note: ODLS covers current and recent ICE custody, but it is not a permanent historical release database.
Bay ICE Custody Structure
ICE custody is event-driven in Bay County. The research found no dedicated local ICE detention center in the current ICE directory. ICE may still assume custody after a county jail detainer process and then transport the person to a listed facility outside Bay County. The physical destination must come from the receiving-agency and ICE records, not from a guessed local address.
The two release layers are easy to confuse. Layer one is BCSO’s departure transaction. Layer two is ICE’s later custody outcome. ODLS may show the second layer for a limited recent period, but the BCSO record still matters because it identifies whether ICE actually received the person. If BCSO lists a different agency, the ICE route may be wrong.
Facility location can be outside Bay County and can change after intake. Use the detention site displayed or supplied by ICE at the time of the inquiry, then confirm current contact rules through ICE’s official directory. Do not infer a permanent site from the place of arrest or the county jail. The absence of a dedicated Bay center is why an agency-based search is more reliable than a local facility list.
Read Bay ICE Locator Results
ODLS uses immigration identity fields, not the Bay booking number. The A-number is the strongest locator key when it is complete and paired with country of birth. Name search requires exact spelling, which can fail when a record uses a different order, spacing, accent, or alias. Compare the result with the BCSO identity and transfer record before treating it as the same person.
A current result supports present ICE custody as reported by the system. Guidance says ODLS also includes people released from ICE custody within the prior 60 days. After that window, a no-result cannot prove that no earlier ICE custody or release occurred. The locator also excludes people under 18, so its silence must not be used to make claims about a juvenile.
ODLS status should be read at the time of access. A transfer between detention sites can change the displayed facility, and a later release can move the record into the recent-release period described by ICE. Write down the exact result instead of paraphrasing it as “free.” If the name route fails, recheck spelling, name order, and country of birth, then use the A-number route if that identifier is lawfully available. When a well-matched BCSO handoff still produces no locator result, use the ICE information line or written ERO form rather than guessing why the record is absent.
| ODLS path | Inputs | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| A-number search | Nine-digit A-number and country of birth | Requires the correct immigration identifier |
| Biographical search | Exact first and last name, country, optional birth date | Spelling and identity variations can block a match |
| Current result | Reported ICE custody information | Does not explain the earlier Bay departure alone |
| No result | No matching public ODLS result | Not proof of no past ICE custody |
Request Bay ICE Release Records
Split the request by custodian. Send BCSO a focused request for the county booking, detainer or hold notation, release or transfer timestamp, code definition, and receiving agency. Send ICE a separate inquiry for the immigration custody event once the identity is verified. Include the A-number when lawfully available, exact name, birth date, country of birth, and the date BCSO reported transfer.
Do not ask one agency to speculate about another agency’s record. BCSO can certify its own departure transaction. ICE controls later detention, movement, release, or removal records. If information is withheld, ask the custodian to identify the applicable basis. Record each source and access date because custody status can change after an initial lookup.
A focused chronology makes the request easier to answer. List the Bay booking date, the expected local release date, any detainer reference, the reported handoff date, and the most recent ODLS check. Ask ICE to identify the custody event associated with that person and time range, subject to its disclosure rules. Do not merge an ICE removal date, a release under immigration conditions, and a transfer between detention sites under one generic “release” label. Each has a different meaning for someone trying to locate the person.
- Detainer
- An ICE request for notice and temporary continued custody; it is not proof of a completed handoff.
- Handoff
- The actual transfer of a person from one agency’s custody to another.
- A-number
- The immigration identification number used by ODLS.
- Removal
- An immigration outcome distinct from community release in the United States.
Bay ICE Agreement History
Bay County Jail entered a documented ICE Warrant Service Officer agreement in 2019. That source shows a real history of local ICE cooperation and makes an immigration receiving-agency check relevant after some adult Bay bookings. It does not establish that Bay County still participates in the same way in 2026.
The agreement also does not prove that a detainer existed, that ICE took custody, or that a person was later released by ICE. Current participation should be rechecked. For a named case, BCSO’s receiving-agency field and ICE’s own record control. The historical agreement is a distinctive local lead, not a substitute for current evidence.
Note: Cite the 2019 agreement as history only, then confirm each current handoff through BCSO and ICE records.