Custer County Jail Overview
Custer County Sheriff's Office operates Custer County Jail as part of its official duties. The sheriff's office enforces state and local law, serves court papers, responds to emergencies, maintains public order, coordinates with other law enforcement agencies, and runs the local jail. Current county materials name Levi Maydole as sheriff and Michael Newmyer as chief deputy.
The jail is a county facility, not a state prison. It serves the local arrest and court process in Custer County. People held there may be awaiting first appearance, waiting for a bond decision, serving a short county sentence, held on a court order, or awaiting transfer to another agency. Official commissioner minutes from October 14, 2025 also show that some Custer County inmates may be housed out of county.
The official sheriff page screenshot captured for the site shows the county source that identifies jail operations and links VINELink.
Use the county page for current local office routing, and use the Idaho jail directory only for directory capacity and population figures.
Custer County Jail Capacity
The Idaho Sheriffs' Association directory of Idaho jails lists Custer County Jail with a rated capacity of 8 and an average daily population of 3. Those are the strongest published facility statistics found in the research. They are not a live count for a specific day, and the sheriff's office should be contacted for current custody questions.
A small jail count needs careful reading. A few people can change the population rate, and Custer County's own minutes show out-of-county housing can occur. A low in-building average does not prove that all Custer County custody needs are handled inside the Challis facility.
Lookup Custer County Jail Custody
No official online Custer County Jail roster was located on the county website, sheriff page, location page, or document pages inspected. That means the lookup process for Custer County Jail is a fallback chain, not a direct roster search. Each step should be matched to the person's custody stage.
- Call Custer County Sheriff's Office at (208) 879-2232 and ask whether the person is in Custer County custody, in the Challis jail, or housed out of county.
- Use VINELink for custody-status and victim-notification searches when the participating agency provides data.
- Search Idaho iCourt for public court cases, hearings, and filed charges after the arrest reaches court.
- Check the IDOC Resident/Client Search if the person has been sentenced, is on probation, or is on parole.
- Use the BOP inmate locator, U.S. Marshals District of Idaho, or ICE detainee locator for federal or immigration custody.
Lookup caution: Custer County Jail custody is not the same as Idaho DOC custody, and missing county roster data does not rule out another system.
Custer County Jail Contact
The county lists the sheriff office and jail contact in Challis. Use the street address for deliveries and mapping, and use the PO Box for USPS mail unless jail staff gives a different inmate-mail format. The county website also lists a fax number and general email for the sheriff's office.
Custer County Jail
130 S. 9th St. #344
Challis, ID 83226
USPS: PO Box 344, Challis, ID 83226
(208) 879-2232
Fax: (208) 879-2421
Email: custers@custertel.net
Records Request Route
Custer County Sheriff's Office
Written requests should use the sheriff public-records form.
records@co.custer.id.us
Call before sending photos, video media, or payment.
Custer County Jail Visits
Custer County did not publish an official visitation schedule, video-visit vendor, visitor dress code, child-visitor rule, or property rule in the sources inspected. The reliable instruction is to call the jail before arriving. Visitors should also account for rural travel, weather, and mountain road conditions because the sheriff page links Idaho 511 Road Report and the county includes routes from Mackay, Stanley, and other remote areas.
| Visit Topic | Official Detail Located | Practical Step |
|---|---|---|
| In-person schedule | Not published | Call (208) 879-2232 before traveling. |
| Video visits | Not published | Ask whether video visitation exists and whether a vendor account is required. |
| Visitor ID | Not published | Bring government ID unless jail staff gives different instructions. |
| Children | Not published | Ask before bringing minors. |
| Property and bags | Not published | Do not bring unnecessary items, electronics, food, medication, or weapons. |
Custer County Jail Mail
Official Custer County sources did not publish inmate-mail format, commissary rules, a money-deposit vendor, a phone provider, tablet rules, or deposit fees. Do not assume that a national jail vendor is used. Call the jail before sending mail, money, property, books, photos, or medications.
| Service | Published Custer County Detail | Fallback |
|---|---|---|
| Mail address | No inmate-mail format published | Ask whether to use street address, PO Box, booking number, or housing data. |
| Money deposit | No vendor or fee published | Call for current deposit method and limits. |
| Commissary | No commissary vendor published | Ask jail staff about ordering and restrictions. |
| Phone or video | No provider published | Confirm whether an account is needed. |
For a person who has moved to state prison, use IDOC resident services rather than county jail rules. IDOC publishes statewide prison pages for visiting, mail guidelines, and sending money, but those rules apply to state correctional custody, not the Custer County Jail.
Custer County Jail Booking
Custer County does not publish a detailed booking manual in the official sources inspected. A local arrest may be made by a sheriff deputy, city contract law-enforcement officer, Idaho State Police trooper, or other authorized officer. The person may be brought to Custer County Jail for intake, or later housed elsewhere depending on bed space, classification, medical need, transport logistics, or intercounty arrangements.
The usual booking path includes identity checks, warrant and hold checks, property inventory, security screening, medical or safety screening, internal booking entry, fingerprints, booking photo handling, and housing or transfer decisions. Court activity then moves toward first appearance, bond, and filed charges. Idaho booking-photo restrictions and public-records exemptions can limit what is released.
- Booking
- Jail intake after arrest, including identity, property, safety screening, and custody entry.
- Classification
- Jail review used to decide housing, security, or transfer needs.
- Bond
- Security or release terms set by the court to allow release while the case is pending.
- Hold
- A jail status or agency request that can prevent release even if a local bond is posted.
Custer County Jail Records
The sheriff's official public-records notice says requests to examine or copy public records must be made in writing and should use the county form. The form asks for requestor contact information, telephone, email, driver's license number and state, signature, and an Idaho resident declaration. Idaho Code § 74-103 is cited for a three-working-day grant or denial response for Idaho residents.
Fees may apply. The notice says records over 100 pages may carry actual copy costs, redaction of nonpublic information may be charged, employee time may be charged when locating or copying exceeds two person-hours, and overtime can be charged at 1.5 times wage. For photographs or videos, the requester must provide an unopened 16GB thumb drive, and each thumb drive is subject to a $2 processing fee plus return shipping. Costs must be prepaid.
| Record Need | Route | Important Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Custody confirmation | Call the sheriff's office | Out-of-county housing may apply. |
| Booking or arrest record | Sheriff written PRR | Investigatory exemptions and fees may apply. |
| Booking photo | Sheriff written PRR | Idaho Code § 20-601 restricts release and publication. |
| Court charges | iCourt or Custer County Courts | Booking charges can differ from filed charges. |
Custer County Jail History
Commissioner minutes provide the strongest facility-specific history. June 24, 2019 proceedings describe a tour of dispatch, driver's-license testing, the jail kitchen, actual cells, and exercise yard, with discussion of a jail-compliance dilemma. February 23, 2022 minutes mention board efforts to get a new jail.
August 19, 2025 public-hearing minutes say the jail was built in 1907, call it the oldest active jail in the USA, and state the county has to get permission each year to continue using it while using PILT funds for courthouse ADA compliance and a legal jail. That local record explains why jail capacity, compliance, and out-of-county housing are central to the Custer County inmate population.
Note: Confirm custody, visit rules, mail format, and physical housing with Custer County Jail before traveling or sending anything.