Kanawha VINELink Release Coverage
West Virginia calls the service Victim Information Notification Everyday, or VINE. WVDCR activated it in 2002, and the state announced expansion to all ten regional jails in 2019. South Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility therefore participates, as do WVDCR prisons and correctional facilities. A user may check a person anonymously by web, phone, or mobile application. Registration adds automatic notice through app, phone, email, or text.
WVDCR policy identifies parole, discharge, court-ordered release, transfer to a work-release center, escape, and death among status changes that can cause notice. Availability can vary by the current record. VINELink does not replace the legal event maintained by WVDCR or the court. It is a notification layer fed by participating agencies.
The official West Virginia VINE page provides the state coverage and contact route shown below.
The state page is the best local reference when VINELink registration or a West Virginia custody notification needs agency support.
Search a Kanawha VINELink Record
Begin at the official service and select West Virginia. Current interface labels may change, so follow the person or offender search rather than relying on one remembered button name. State guidance has used labels such as “Find an Offender” and “Search for Someone.” Use an identification number when known because common names can return more than one person.
- Open VINELink and choose West Virginia from the state selection.
- Select the person or offender search. Enter the adult's name or identification number.
- Compare the available identifiers. Do not select a match based only on a shared name.
- Open the correct record and read the status, reporting agency, and location fields that are currently available.
- If the result is unclear, compare the WVDCR jail or prison search and contact the agency that supplied the data.
The West Virginia VINELink search entry is shown in this successfully captured manifest image.
The state entry keeps the search within West Virginia's participating regional-jail and correctional-facility network.
When more than one result resembles the person, return to the WVDCR source before registering. The regional-jail search can show jail location plus other identity details under More Info. The prison result can include an OID, birth date, location, intake date, sentence orders, and projected or parole-related dates. Use only enough identifying detail to choose the correct adult. Do not republish personal data merely because an official screen displays it.
Kanawha VINELink Release Fields
A returned record may communicate custody status and agency or location. Official West Virginia material does not promise that every result will show a release date, release reason, destination, or permanent history. Describe only what the current record actually displays.
| VINELink element | What it supports |
|---|---|
| Name or offender identity | Helps select the intended adult when paired with available identifiers. |
| Custody status | Reports the status received from the participating agency. |
| Agency or location | May identify the jail, prison, or reporting authority. |
| Status-change notice | Alerts a registered user after a qualifying event reaches VINE. |
| Release or out-of-custody result | Supports that a status changed, but does not supply the legal order by itself. |
A no-result outcome is also limited. It can reflect spelling, feed delay, transfer, an excluded juvenile record, or another coverage boundary. For a named adult who has left the active jail roster, use the Kanawha County released inmate search path to join VINE with court and WVDCR evidence.
Read each status in time. A court-ordered release may be entered before jail processing ends. A transfer alert may arrive after the adult reaches the next WVDCR facility. A reported out-of-custody status does not rule out supervision, a federal handoff, or an agency not covered by West Virginia VINE. Write down the status, reporting agency, and check time before seeking confirmation.
Register Kanawha Release Alerts
Registration begins inside the correct person's record. Current labels may say “Notify Me of Status Changes” or “Get Notified.” Choose only after checking the identity. Keep contact information and the phone PIN private.
- Open the verified record and select the notification option.
- Choose telephone, email, text, or app methods offered by the current interface.
- For telephone calls, create a four-digit PIN. The PIN acknowledges and stops the notification call.
- Add any other desired contact method, then continue to the review screen.
- Confirm registration and preserve the confirmation without sharing private contact data or the PIN.
West Virginia's toll-free VINE number is 1-866-984-8463, also presented as 1-866-WV4-VINE. WVDCR reports support availability around the clock. A user may search without registration, but automatic alerts require the contact and confirmation steps.
Note: Never publish a notification PIN, telephone number, email address, or private registration screen while documenting a Kanawha VINE search.
Confirm Kanawha VINELink Releases
A VINE alert should be reconciled with the agency record. For South Central, WVDCR is the custodian of the jail booking and movement data, not the Kanawha County Sheriff. A targeted request can ask for the actual movement date and time, event type, destination, court authority, and any detainer or transfer indicator. The matching court order may explain the legal basis for the event.
Coverage does not include ordinary BOP, USMS, ICE, or municipal systems. A sentenced federal person belongs in the BOP Inmate Locator. A USMS pretrial detainee requires the federal docket, USMS, and the holding facility. ICE custody or recent ICE release belongs in the ICE locator. Those distinctions matter at South Central because local physical custody can end through a transfer rather than release to the community.
Kanawha VINE Transfer Delays
WVDCR warns that a transfer does not trigger notice until the person arrives at the new facility. The delay protects the movement. During that interval, the adult may no longer appear at the first location while no new notification has arrived. That gap must not be called community release.
Check the separate WVDCR prison search if the person moved from South Central to state correctional custody. For another regional jail, repeat the active jail lookup and compare the new location. If the movement record names a federal or immigration destination, use the receiving system. The path of custody matters more than the disappearance of one search result.
- Release
- An agency's custody ends, though supervision or another hold may still exist.
- Transfer
- The person leaves one site and remains in another authority's custody.
- Discharge
- A sentence or supervision term reaches its legal end, which can occur after physical release.
- Detainer
- A request or hold from another authority that may affect the next custody step.
Kanawha Statutory Release Notice
VINE registration and statutory written notice are not the same process. WVDCR says a request under West Virginia Code §62-12-23d must be sent separately to WVDCR and the West Virginia Parole Board. Sending a request to one agency does not count as notice to the other.
A written request submitted to WVDCR automatically enrolls the requester in VINE, but a person seeking formal statutory notice should still follow each agency's current requirements. Preserve proof of submission. Confirm the delivery method and contact details with the agency because office routes can change.
Formal notice can matter when parole is involved. The West Virginia Parole Board makes the parole decision, while WVDCR transports, releases, and supervises. A grant is not the same as a recorded physical exit. A person granted parole from a regional jail may first move through DCR intake and fingerprint processing. VINE can report later status changes, but the actual WVDCR movement closes the custody question.
Note: VINE is the event-alert layer; WVDCR records and court orders remain the sources for the underlying Kanawha custody change.
Kanawha Registry Is Not VINE
The West Virginia State Police Sex Offender Registry is a separate official system. It applies only to people with a statutory registration duty. A registry entry may show that a qualifying person has community registration obligations, but it is not a universal inmate locator and does not provide the South Central release record.
The registry's official disclaimer warns that information can be incomplete, under verification, or changed. It also prohibits threatening, intimidating, or harassing use. When a qualifying record has an error, the State Police contact documented in the research is 304-746-2133 or registry@wvsp.gov. Do not use a registry absence to infer that a person remains incarcerated, and do not use an entry as proof of a specific release date.
The official registry scope and disclaimer appear in the successful manifest capture below.
The disclaimer reinforces why VINELink, WVDCR custody records, and the registry must remain separate checks with separate meanings.
Kanawha VINE Agency Confirmation
Confirmation depends on the reporting custody system. South Central Regional Jail and Correctional Facility is a WVDCR regional jail, so WVDCR holds its booking and movement data. The Kanawha County Sheriff may hold separate arrest, incident, or transport records, but it does not operate the adult regional jail. Asking the Sheriff for a WVDCR movement can produce an incomplete answer.
| VINELink situation | Confirmation route |
|---|---|
| South Central status change | WVDCR movement record, facility, and court order |
| WVDCR prison status change | Prison search, institutional records, and Parole Services when applicable |
| No result after local disappearance | Check spelling, transfer, court activity, and WVDCR Records |
| Federal or immigration destination | BOP, federal docket or USMS, or ICE locator as appropriate |
A focused WVDCR request can ask for the OIS booking packet and movement or release entries for the named adult. Include the known OID, approximate admission date, and South Central. Ask for the actual date and time, event type, destination, authorizing court or order, and any detainer or transfer indicator. Public production remains subject to disclosure policy and lawful redaction.
West Virginia FOIA requires a reasonably specific request. The statutory response may provide the record, identify a reasonable inspection time and place, or deny in writing with reasons. That record process and VINE notification complement each other, but neither should be stretched beyond the fields each source actually supplies.