How can I locate someone in the Federal Prison System?
I recently received a note from my half-brother’s wife, informing me that he’d been convicted of a pretty serious crime and would be sentenced shortly to 5+ years in a Federal prison. I’d like to send him a letter, and maybe a care package. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to get in touch with his wife or his mother to find out where he was sent.
We aren’t terribly close, so we hadn’t been in touch much in the recent past. Not thinking I might need it, I threw away the envelope the note came in. The last phone numbers I have for them and for his mother are out of order, and I haven’t been able to find any new information on them. Since I can’t find either of them, my last resort is trying to track down my brother through the prison system. If it matters, he lived in Virginia at the time all this took place, though I’m not positive that’s where the crime/conviction occurred. Any advice?
Note: I don’t mind if this goes off-topic a bit, but please do try to be helpful. Thanks!
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Arrests/convictions are public record. I would start by using google news to pin down the city the crime/trial/sentencing occurred. Then I would contact the local government’s office and start pounding the phone lines.
If he hasn’t been sentenced yet he may still be in the county jail (in the county where the crime occurred,) waiting to see the judge for sentencing. Once he is in the system you should find him here.
http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/LocateInmate.jsp
Well, from what I personally know of the system, you certainly have to prove that you are a family member to be able to contact him and keep in touch with visits. When you are writing you can him to file a visitors form to authorize you to come over and visit him when you can, until that day you have to do some research online for all the states that you might think he has lived and or may have committed the crime. All that information is public information. Hopefully you can get somewhere with all the advice you get. Have a wonderful day! ;-)
I think I found him, using @escapedone7‘s link. Thanks so much!
You are welcome, and sorry that I was not helpfulenough, but glad that you have found the anwer to your dilemna.
I would expect that if worse came to worst, you could always file some form of habeas petition, if only to locate him in the system.
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