Lee County Federal Custody Overview
The research did not locate a Bureau of Prisons facility or an ICE detention facility physically inside Lee County. That does not mean a Lee County resident, arrestee, or defendant cannot be in federal or immigration custody. It means the public lookup path moves out of the county jail system and into BOP, ICE, U.S. Marshals, and federal court channels.
Federal custody can mean several different things. A sentenced federal prisoner is usually searched through the BOP Inmate Locator. A federal pretrial defendant may be in U.S. Marshals custody and may not appear in BOP as a sentenced inmate. An immigration detainee may be searched through ICE Online Detainee Locator System. A county jail booking can also include a hold or detainer, which is a request or notice from another agency.
For Lee County searches, keep the custody stage separate. Lee County Jail handles local arrests and local detention. Iowa DOC handles state prison and supervision. Federal and immigration systems handle federal defendants, sentenced federal prisoners, and ICE detainees. A person may move between those systems, and one locator may be blank while another has the current record.
Lee County BOP Inmate Locator
The BOP Inmate Locator covers federal inmates incarcerated from 1982 to the present. It is the right public search when the person has been sentenced to federal prison or is otherwise in BOP custody. The BOP source notes that release dates can be affected by First Step Act sentence reviews and recalculations, so periodic rechecking may be needed.
- Open the BOP Inmate Locator when the person may be in sentenced federal custody.
- Search by name, or use a known federal inmate number if available.
- Review facility, age, race, sex, and release-date information when returned.
- If no result appears, consider whether the person is federal pretrial, in county custody on a hold, or in ICE custody instead.
| BOP field | Use |
|---|---|
| First, middle, last name | Basic federal inmate name search. |
| Race | Optional narrowing field in the mobile name-search page. |
| Sex | Optional narrowing field. |
| Age | Optional age search field. |
The image below links to the BOP Inmate Locator landing page.
The BOP locator is federal, so it does not replace Lee County Jail records, Iowa DOC records, or ICE ODLS.
Federal Name Search Fields
The BOP mobile name-search page shows the public name-based fields available without a login. These fields can help when a person has a common name or when a Lee County search has no clear county jail or state prison match. Federal search terms should be exact enough to reduce false matches, but broad enough to catch middle-name or spelling differences.
The source image below links to the BOP mobile Find By Name page.
Name, race, sex, and age fields can narrow a federal search, but a blank BOP result still may mean the person is held by the U.S. Marshals before sentencing.
U.S. Marshals and Lee County
The U.S. Marshals Service handles many federal pretrial custody and transport functions. Lee County is served through the Southern District of Iowa. The research lists Des Moines district headquarters at 515-400-8140 and the Davenport sub-office at 563-526-6120. The USMS courthouse locations page lists Des Moines and Davenport federal courthouse offices, with the Davenport courthouse at 131 East 4th Street, Suite 300, Davenport, IA 52801.
USMS custody is not the same as BOP sentenced custody. A federal defendant may be held under a U.S. Marshals contract arrangement, moved for court, or held outside Lee County. That status may not show in the county jail roster path or in BOP's sentenced-prison locator. When a federal case is pending, federal court records and attorney contacts may be needed in addition to USMS district contact.
USMS Southern District of Iowa
Des Moines headquarters
515-400-8140
Davenport sub-office: 563-526-6120
Lee County ICE Detainee Lookup
ICE ODLS is the public immigration detainee locator. USA.gov guidance says ODLS can locate a person currently held by ICE using an A-number with country of birth, or using name, country of birth, and birth date. The research also notes ODLS covers adults currently in ICE custody or people in CBP custody more than 48 hours. ICE detention is separate from Lee County criminal custody.
| ICE ODLS field | Required path | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A-Number | Used with country of birth | USA.gov describes 8- or 9-digit Alien Registration Number searching. |
| Country of birth | Used in both search paths | Needed for A-number and biographical searches. |
| First and last name | Biographical path | Use exact legal spelling when possible. |
| Birth date | Biographical path | Required with name and country of birth guidance. |
ICE also maintains a national detention facility directory, but no ICE detention facility was found in Lee County from official facility sources during the research pass. If ODLS has no match, the person may be in local custody, state custody, federal criminal custody, released, listed under different identity data, or outside the ODLS coverage window.
Federal and ICE Contact Paths
This page represents a custody path rather than a single building in Lee County. There is no Lee County street address for a BOP or ICE facility in the official sources located. Contact choices should follow the agency with the record. BOP is for federal inmate locator records. ICE is for immigration detention. USMS is for federal pretrial and transport questions in the Southern District of Iowa.
Federal / ICE custody serving Lee County
No physical BOP or ICE facility located in Lee County from official sources.
USMS Des Moines: 515-400-8140
USMS Davenport: 563-526-6120
Use BOP Inmate Locator and ICE ODLS for online searches.
| Custody type | Lookup channel | Lee County note |
|---|---|---|
| Sentenced federal prison | BOP Inmate Locator | Not a county jail search. |
| Federal pretrial | U.S. Marshals Southern District of Iowa | May not appear as sentenced BOP custody. |
| Immigration detention | ICE ODLS | No ICE facility found physically in Lee County. |
| Local criminal custody | Lee County Jail and sheriff records | Use local jail channels first for same-day arrest custody. |
Federal Custody Visit Limits
Because no physical BOP or ICE detention facility was located in Lee County, there is no Lee County federal visiting schedule to publish. Visits, phone access, mail, and money depend on the actual facility where the person is housed. For a sentenced federal prisoner, use the BOP facility listed in the locator result. For ICE detention, use ICE ODLS and the ICE detention facility directory. For federal pretrial custody, ask the attorney or U.S. Marshals district contact which facility is involved.
Federal mugshot access also differs from local jail booking photos. The research instructions state federal/ICE pages should not promise public federal mugshots. A federal court case, BOP locator result, or ICE ODLS result is not a county jail booking-photo gallery. For Lee County local booking photos, use the sheriff records request path and Iowa public-records rules instead.
- Detainer
- A notice or request from another agency that may affect release or transfer after local custody.
- Federal pretrial custody
- Custody before a federal case is resolved, often handled by the U.S. Marshals Service.
- Sentenced federal custody
- Federal prison custody after sentencing, generally searched through BOP.
- ICE custody
- Immigration detention searched through ICE ODLS, separate from county or state charges.
Troubleshoot Lee County Custody Searches
A missing federal result does not prove that a person is not held. Start with the most likely custody stage. If the arrest just happened in Lee County, call Lee County Jail. If charges have been filed in state court, search Iowa Courts Online. If the person was sentenced to Iowa prison or supervision, use Iowa DOC Offender Search. If the case is federal, check BOP for sentenced custody and USMS for pretrial custody. If the matter is immigration related, search ICE ODLS.
Use exact identity data where possible. Full legal name, aliases, date of birth, country of birth for ICE, federal inmate number for BOP, court case number, and arrest date can all change the outcome. If the record is local and not online, use the sheriff records request process. If the person has moved out of local custody, the county jail may no longer be the main source.
Note: Verify the actual holding agency before traveling, because no BOP or ICE facility was located in Lee County.