Middle River Regional Jail Inmate Search

Middle River Regional Jail Overview

Middle River Regional Jail is operated by the Middle River Regional Jail Authority at 350 Technology Drive in Staunton. The jail houses male and female inmates, including local inmates from its member jurisdictions and state-responsible inmates awaiting transfer to the Virginia Department of Corrections. The official MRRJ site lists Augusta County, Staunton, Waynesboro, Rockingham County, and Harrisonburg as member jurisdictions. Highland County is not listed as a member jurisdiction, so the accurate Highland connection is transfer and external regional custody, not ownership or membership.

The facility began operation on April 1, 2006, after years of planning and construction. It was built on 28 acres near the I-81 and I-64 interchange in Augusta County and is described by MRRJ as a 212,020-square-foot facility. Its public services are broader than the Highland lock-up: JailTracker roster access, video visitation, Smart Communications mail, SmartInmate and Access Corrections account routes, intake and property procedures, programs, and FOIA contact information.

The official Middle River Regional Jail home page supplies the facility history, capacity, hours, address, and population context used here.

That official page is also the source for the business-hour and lobby-hour distinction that families should check before calling or traveling.

Middle River Regional Jail Capacity and Population

MRRJ reports a rated capacity of 396 inmates. The same official jail page says the facility was planned with the expectation that population could reach periods of up to 600 inmates per day, and that recent years have seen average daily population exceed 900 inmates per day. These figures are MRRJ facility context, not a Highland County-only population count. The JailTracker roster is dynamic and changes as people are booked, released, transferred, or moved under court orders.

MRRJ's public roster shows active inmates under its current agency setting. It should be used for present custody checks, while historical population totals, Highland-specific counts, and demographic summaries should not be inferred from a single current roster search.

How to Look Up an Inmate at Middle River Regional Jail

Middle River Regional Jail uses a public JailTracker roster at omsweb.public-safety-cloud.com/publicroster/MiddleRiverRegionalJailVA. The inspected agency settings showed current-offender-only public searching, images enabled, gender filters, name fields, offender ID fields, and intake-date filters. Because the public setup is current-only, do not rely on it as a complete released-inmate archive.

The JailTracker roster interface is the source-matched image for MRRJ lookup steps.

The roster screenshot shows why last-name searching, disclaimer acceptance, and result confirmation are central to the lookup process.

1. Open the MRRJ JailTracker public roster and accept the roster disclaimer when prompted.
2. Search by last name first. Add first name, middle name, gender, offender ID, permanent ID, or intake-date range only when needed.
3. Review the result list for name, gender, offender IDs, permanent ID, intake date, and total returned.
4. Open the individual profile to confirm the person is housed under Middle River Regional Jail and to review status, intake date, photo availability, charges, bond fields, arresting agency, and other public details.
5. If no result appears, call Highland County Sheriff's Office for local custody, call MRRJ for regional custody, check VADOC for state custody, and use BOP or ICE locators when federal or immigration custody is involved.

Middle River Regional Jail Address and Contact

Use the main jail phone for custody, blocked-number, visitation, account, and general information questions. The official MRRJ home page lists business hours from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and a lobby open 24 hours daily. Business-hours contact in the research is Amanda Lamb at extension 1242. After hours, the Watch Commander is listed at extension 1150.

Visiting Someone at Middle River Regional Jail

MRRJ family visitation is video-based through SmartJailMail. The jail states that face-to-face visits are no longer scheduled for the public. On-site video visitation is cost-free, limited to one 15-minute on-site visit per week per inmate, and must be scheduled at least 24 hours ahead. Inmates also receive one additional free remote video visit per week, one free phone call, and two free message credits, with credits renewing Saturday and not carrying over.

The MRRJ visitation page gives the family, attorney, and minister visit rules used in the schedule below.

Those rules should be checked before travel because registration, identification, dress, and no-phone restrictions can affect access.

Visitors must register with SmartJailMail, provide government-issued ID and a matching selfie, and be over 18 unless accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. The facility is tobacco-free. Visitors are subject to search, no cell phones are allowed, and a cell-phone violation can trigger a minimum 90-day visitation ban. Purses, backpacks, umbrellas, phones, cameras, and other personal items must be left in the vehicle. Dress rules prohibit revealing clothing, clothing resembling jail or security uniforms, obscene language or images, and clothing deemed inappropriate by the shift supervisor.

Mail, Phone, and Money at Middle River Regional Jail

MRRJ uses Smart Communications for personal mail scanning. Personal mail is sent to the Smart Communications address in Seminole, Florida, where letters, cards, pictures, and drawings are digitally delivered by tablet or kiosk. Originals are destroyed after scanning, so do not send irreplaceable originals. Money orders and cashier checks use the physical MRRJ address with Inmate Accounts and no other mail enclosed. Subscriptions must come directly from a local or national newspaper or nationally recognized publisher.

The MRRJ mail page documents the Smart Communications address and scan-and-destroy handling rules.

Because original mail cannot be retrieved after scanning, families should treat the published address format as mandatory.

The MRRJ telephone page explains SmartInmate phone deposits, Access Corrections funding, collect-call options, and blocked-number help.

Phone and account rules are separate from mail rules, so confirm the right vendor before adding funds.

Booking and Intake at Middle River Regional Jail

MRRJ's intake process begins after arrest and magistrate review. The jail states that the person is taken before the magistrate to determine bail and whether the person will be committed to jail or released on recognizance. Intake then receives offenders, inventories personal property and money, conducts a contraband search, completes an initial medical questionnaire, takes photographs, issues initial jail property and an inmate handbook, and assigns the offender to the intake housing area.

The MRRJ intake page is the source for the booking, call, classification, and arraignment steps.

That intake process helps explain why a newly transferred Highland-connected detainee may not be immediately ready for calls, visits, or property questions.

Once booked at MRRJ, the incarcerated person gets an opportunity to make two phone calls, although calls may be delayed for a reasonable time if the person is intoxicated or violent. On the next regular scheduled court date, the inmate appears before a judge for arraignment. The arraignment reviews bond, determines appointed counsel, and sets the next court date. Courts are not open on weekends or holidays. If the inmate is not released, classification is typically completed within 24 hours by face-to-face interview, and the offender provides a visiting list of up to five people and one religious visitor.

Programs, Work Release, and Jail Conditions

MRRJ lists programs intended to support self-awareness, academic advancement, personal responsibility, and interpersonal skills. Current or recently restarted offerings documented in the research include chaplain visits, extracurricular activities, GED, identification document help, reentry workshops for listed regional localities, work release, and workforce crews. Program availability can change because the research notes that some programs stopped during COVID and only some had restarted.

The MRRJ programs page documents GED, reentry, work release, workforce crews, and related programming.

Program eligibility is not automatic, especially for work release, which MRRJ describes as limited to low-risk non-violent offenders with additional restrictions.

Work release participants may pay room and board and make payments toward child support, fines, court costs, or restitution. Workforce crews can perform landscaping, maintenance, snow removal, groundskeeping, janitorial work, painting, trash pickup, and similar tasks for participating localities. The research also notes state oversight context: Board of Local and Regional Jails materials list MRRJ audit compliance, and Virginia standards govern local and regional jails and lock-ups.

FOIA and Records at Middle River Regional Jail

For records held by MRRJ, use the jail's FOIA route rather than the Highland sheriff's office. The research identifies MRRJ FOIA Officer Amanda Lamb at alamb@mrrjva.gov, 540-245-5420 extension 1242, and 350 Technology Drive, Staunton, VA 24401. Make written requests specific: include the person's full name, booking number if known, intake date, release date if known, arresting agency, court case or control number, and the exact record requested.

The MRRJ FOIA page provides the records-request contact channel for jail-held records.

Virginia FOIA response timing, cost recovery, and exemptions can still apply, and court records must be requested from the proper court clerk rather than from the jail.

Use the roster for active custody confirmation, use MRRJ FOIA for jail-held booking or operational records, use Highland courts for Highland case files and court orders, and use VADOC for state-prison custody. Juvenile, medical, sealed, expunged, victim, security, and active-investigation material may be withheld or redacted under Virginia law.

Directions and Parking Notes for Middle River Regional Jail

MRRJ is in the Green Hills Industrial area near the I-81 and I-64 interchange. Official directions are more useful than generic GPS language. From I-64 west, take I-81 north, Exit 225, turn left to SR 262 west, turn right on Route 11 north, then right at the first traffic light onto Technology Drive. From I-81 north, take Exit 225 to Verona, turn left from the exit, turn right at the light onto Route 11 south, then right at the first stoplight onto Technology Drive. From I-81 south, take Exit 225, turn right onto SR 262 west, right onto Route 11 south, then right at the first stoplight onto Technology Drive.

For Highland families, the drive to Staunton is different from a local Monterey courthouse or sheriff trip. Confirm the person is actually housed at MRRJ before traveling, schedule visits through SmartJailMail at least 24 hours ahead, leave personal items in the vehicle, and call the jail if weather, court movement, or a recent release may affect access. The lobby is listed as open 24 hours, but business-office services follow weekday business hours.

About Middle River Regional Jail

Middle River Regional Jail is a full regional jail with public inmate-service information, but Highland County searches still require careful routing. A person arrested in Highland may begin with the sheriff and lock-up process in Monterey, then appear in the MRRJ roster only if actually booked or housed at Middle River. The MRRJ roster can display booking photos, intake dates, active status, offender and permanent IDs, charges, bond fields, arresting agency, and additional public profile details when available.

MRRJ rules control mail, phone, money, visitation, property, intake, and programming while the person is housed there. VADOC rules take over after movement to a state prison or VADOC-supervised status, and federal or immigration systems use separate BOP, USMS-related, or ICE channels. Confirm the custody system before sending money, mailing documents, scheduling visits, or relying on a roster result for court status.

Search Middle River Regional Jail Records

Use the public search tool below as a broad records starting point, then verify current custody, booking details, account rules, visits, or FOIA requests with MRRJ or the court that controls the case.