Releases from USP McCreary
USP McCreary is a federal correctional complex at 330 Federal Way in Pine Knot. It includes a high-security U.S. penitentiary and an adjacent minimum-security satellite camp. Physical location in McCreary County does not place either institution under the sheriff, county jailer, Kentucky Department of Corrections, or Kentucky courts.
A person may leave USP McCreary through community release, transfer to another BOP institution, handoff to another authority, or another disposition recorded in the federal case. The BOP locator and federal docket must be read together when the exact outcome matters. A McCreary arrest record is not created simply because a federal prisoner was housed inside the county.
For most modern federal sentences, supervised release is the court-ordered community term that follows imprisonment. It is distinct from Kentucky parole and from transfer between prisons.
How to Confirm a USP McCreary Release
The BOP Inmate Locator covers federal inmate information from 1982 to the present. It supports number and identity searches, making it the correct starting point for a person associated with USP McCreary.
- Search by BOP register number when it is known. The locator also accepts DCDC, FBI, and INS identifiers.
- For an identity search, enter the person's first, middle, and last name. Use age, race, or sex only to separate likely matches.
- Compare the register number, age, location, and status. Do not rely on a name match alone.
- Read the release date and location or custody wording exactly as displayed.
- If the result names another BOP institution, treat the event as a transfer within federal custody.
- If the record says released or not in BOP custody, check the federal docket when another hold, order, or supervised-release term could affect the full outcome.
BOP warns that sentence computations for some pre-1982 matters can be incomplete or affected by old-law recalculation. Historical questions may therefore need a federal records request.
What the BOP Locator Shows
The locator is a public index, not the complete prison file. Its result fields are useful for distinguishing a federal identity and a reported BOP release from a local-jail record.
| Field | How to read it |
|---|---|
| Name and register number | Confirm the federal identity before using the status. |
| Age, race, and sex | Separate people with similar names. |
| Location or status | Shows a BOP institution or that the person is no longer listed in BOP custody. |
| Release date | Reports the BOP release date but not every later custody event. |
The official USP McCreary page confirms the institution's identity and contact details. The image below is tied to that source.
USP McCreary Records and Contact
Facility staff can route institution questions, but the public locator and federal records channels remain the right way to document a release. A caller should use the register number when available and should not expect staff to disclose protected case or placement details.
USP McCreary
Agency: Federal Bureau of Prisons
Address: 330 Federal Way, Pine Knot, KY 42635
Phone: 606-354-7000
Complex: High-security penitentiary and minimum-security satellite camp
For a release reason beyond locator fields, seek the controlling BOP record and the federal docket. PACER can contain the judgment, detention and release orders, and supervised-release terms. If a person was a U.S. Marshals Service prisoner and no locator resolves the event, the USMS FOIA route is the records fallback.
Federal Release, Transfer, and Handoff
“Not in BOP custody” does not always mean a person went directly home. BOP can transfer custody to another authority. An immigration detainer may lead to ICE custody. A federal or state warrant can lead to a different jail. The destination system, not the absence from USP McCreary, establishes what happened next.
| Outcome | Next source |
|---|---|
| Another BOP prison | BOP locator and movement records |
| Community plus supervised release | Federal judgment, release order, and probation records |
| ICE handoff | ICE Online Detainee Locator and field-office guidance |
| USMS movement | Federal docket and USMS FOIA where needed |
| State or local warrant | The receiving state's or jail's custody record |
A change of institution is a transfer, and an agency handoff ends BOP custody without proving community release.
Why Kentucky and County Searches Do Not Fit
Kentucky Offender Online Lookup covers KDOC custody and supervision. It does not replace the BOP locator for USP McCreary. Likewise, the McCreary County Jailer routes people arrested in county matters to contracted local facilities, not into the federal penitentiary as a routine county booking.
This division also controls records requests. A county release log cannot certify when BOP ended custody. A Kentucky parole entry cannot explain a federal supervised-release order. For the county track, use the McCreary County Jail routing page. For a person at USP McCreary, keep the search in federal sources unless the record names a state or local destination.
USP McCreary Federal Parole Dates
The U.S. Parole Commission's 2026 BOP hearing schedule lists USP McCreary hearings on February 23 and September 21. That is distinctive local information, but its scope is narrow. It applies only to people who remain within federal parole jurisdiction, not to most modern federal sentences.
A scheduled hearing is not release. It shows that a review is planned for a covered case. The Commission's result, BOP locator, and federal court record must still establish the later outcome. Kentucky Parole Board rules and District 20 contacts do not govern this federal calendar.
Federal Court and Immigration Follow-Up
PACER is the federal court-record entry point for the judgment and later orders. A docket may explain the sentence, detention authority, modification, or supervised-release conditions that a short locator result cannot. Access and document charges depend on the federal service, so the precise case and court should be identified before searching.
ICE's Online Detainee Locator is designed for current immigration detention. It can be searched with an A-number and country of birth or with the biographical fields presented by the live interface. A no-result does not prove release, removal, or the absence of other federal custody. Follow the official no-result guidance and contact the appropriate Enforcement and Removal Operations office where necessary.
USMS often uses state, local, and private detention space for federal pretrial prisoners. It does not provide a BOP-style historical public release locator. A federal prisoner can therefore move through a local jail without creating a community release. The docket and official records remain the durable trail.
Preserving a USP McCreary Result
When preserving a federal result, note the search date, exact locator wording, register number, and named location. Pair that result with the judgment or release order when formal proof of authority is needed. A later locator update can change the display, so the source and access date help keep the sequence clear. Keep a BOP transfer, a BOP release, and another agency's intake as separate events.
Identity checks matter as much as status checks. Use the register number to distinguish similar names and record which search method produced the match. If a field is blank, do not infer a release reason. The public locator is concise by design, and missing detail belongs in a records request or court search.
A complete federal sequence can involve several dates: the court's sentence, the BOP computation, departure from USP McCreary, intake by another authority, and the start of community supervision. Label each date by source. Do not merge a scheduled date with an actual departure or assume the courthouse date is the prison gate date. When records conflict, the register number and federal case number provide the strongest route back to the responsible offices.