Buena Vista Correctional Complex Release Search

Releases from Buena Vista Correctional Complex

Buena Vista Correctional Complex is operated by the Colorado Department of Corrections. It is part of the state prison system, so its release path is governed by CDOC time computation, Colorado parole law, State Board of Parole action, mandatory release rules, and final discharge rules. A person leaving BVCC should not be searched as a Chaffee County jail release unless the person also had a separate local jail booking. The county name can be confusing because BVCC is physically in Chaffee County, but its records are state-prison records.

A person released from BVCC may still be under supervision. Colorado parole rules define release in the parole context as physical departure from the facility on the effective parole date. Parole eligibility date, mandatory release date, actual parole release date, and final discharge are separate milestones. A CDOC record can show a person in custody, on parole, discharged, transferred, or returned to custody depending on the status and public fields available for that offender.

How to Confirm a BVCC Release

CDOC Offender Search is the primary public lookup for a person sentenced to Colorado prison, including people held at Buena Vista Correctional Complex. The search interface accepts DOCNO, last name, first name, and gender. Search by DOC number when possible because names can repeat. If the offender record shows a facility such as BVCC or another prison, the person is still in state custody or has a facility-linked status. If the record shows parole, release, discharge, or another supervision status, the next check is parole or CDOC records rather than the Chaffee County Sheriff's Office.

1. Open CDOC Offender Search at doc.state.co.us/oss.
2. Search by DOCNO if known. Otherwise use last name and first name, with gender only as a narrowing field.
3. Review possible matches carefully before opening a record, especially for common names.
4. Look for custody status, facility or location, sentence/status indicators, parole eligibility date, mandatory release date, release or parole date, and discharge indicators.
5. If parole is involved, check the CDOC parole-board schedule and Colorado State Board of Parole materials for hearing context.
6. Use Colorado VINELink for notification when the record is available, then verify any formal release or discharge record with CDOC.

CDOC search is also the way to avoid a common mistake: a person who was released from BVCC is not confirmed by the Chaffee County Detention Center's bond-status phone process. County jail bond language applies to local jail detainees. BVCC releases are state-prison releases tied to sentence computation, parole eligibility, mandatory release, discharge, transfer, or supervision.

Buena Vista Correctional Complex Records and Contact

For immediate facility routing, CDOC lists BVCC with a Buena Vista mailing address and switchboard. For a formal release or discharge record, start with the public CDOC Offender Search record, then use CDOC's records channels if the public status is not enough. The Colorado State Board of Parole and CDOC parole schedule are relevant when the release question concerns parole eligibility, a scheduled hearing, a grant, rescission, revocation, mandatory release, or supervision status.

A useful CDOC records request identifies the person by DOC number if known, full name, date of birth if known, facility, approximate release or parole date, and the specific record needed: release date, parole status, mandatory release date, discharge status, transfer history, or supervision status. VINELink can help with notifications, but it is not the certified release record.

About Buena Vista Correctional Complex

CDOC states that Buena Vista Correctional Complex is composed of two separate facilities: Buena Vista Correctional Facility and Buena Vista Minimum Center. Buena Vista Correctional Facility opened in 1892 as Colorado State Reformatory, and Buena Vista Minimum Center opened in 1999. The reviewed CDOC page listed Bryan Coleman as warden and linked users to CDOC statistics for current population and capacity. This history makes BVCC one of the major Chaffee County release sources, but it remains a state facility with state release records.

The CDOC Buena Vista Correctional Complex page is the subject-matched source for this facility image and the facility structure described here.

The screenshot supports the BVCC page details, including the two-facility structure, official CDOC contact path, and release-search distinction from the county jail.

Projected Release, PED, MRD, and Discharge

For BVCC, projected release is a CDOC time-computation issue. Colorado parole-board rules define PED as the earliest possible parole release date based on sentence length, time served, good-time credits earned or lost, and statute as calculated by CDOC. MRD is a parole release date over which the Board has no discretion. A projected date, parole eligibility date, or scheduled hearing date is not proof that the person actually left BVCC. The actual release has to be confirmed through CDOC status, parole action, VINELink notification, or CDOC records.

Colorado statutes add more nuance. C.R.S. 17-22.5-403 provides parole eligibility rules, including 50% eligibility for many felony sentences and stricter thresholds for specified offenses. C.R.S. 17-22.5-405 governs earned time, which can be granted, withheld, withdrawn, or restored and can affect computed dates within statutory limits. Colorado law changed for some violent felonies after the 2024 voter-approved amendment, so the controlling offense date and current statute matter before relying on a date field. C.R.S. 17-22.5-402 addresses final discharge from custody, which is separate from parole release.

Parole Schedule and VINELink Inmate Searchs

The CDOC scheduled-hearings page is tied to the Offender Search interface and shows monthly parole-board calendars. The research source notes that hearings are open to the public, advance arrangements are required, and schedules are subject to change. For application or rescission hearings, the source directs people to contact the offender's case manager; for revocation hearings, the jail where the offender is located may be the contact point. A scheduled hearing is not itself a release record, but it can explain why a CDOC release date is pending, delayed, granted, or reconsidered.

Colorado VINELink is a notification layer. It can be useful for a named person if the record is available and the user registers for custody-change alerts. Search by name or offender ID, compare identifiers carefully, open the record, and use the notification option if offered. If VINELink says a person was released or transferred, treat that as an alert and verify the formal status through CDOC Offender Search, CDOC records, or parole records when the timing or status must be exact.

BVCC Is Not the County Jail

Chaffee County has two very different custody systems. Chaffee County Detention Center in Salida is the local jail operated by the Sheriff's Office. It handles local arrests, pretrial detainees, short local sentences, holds, and people awaiting transport. Buena Vista Correctional Complex is a CDOC state-prison complex. A person held at BVCC is searched through CDOC, not through the county jail's current custody and bond-status process.

This distinction prevents false negatives. A person absent from Chaffee jail records may still be a state prisoner at BVCC or another CDOC facility. A person absent from CDOC Offender Search may have only had a local jail booking or court case and no state-prison sentence. Court records can bridge the gap when a Chaffee case led to a mittimus to CDOC, probation, dismissal, bond release, or other disposition.

State-Prison Release Records and Limits

Colorado release and discharge records are shaped by public-records law, CDOC rules, and parole statutes. CCJRA covers criminal justice records, while CORA covers many government records. Official action records are generally open to inspection subject to statutory limits, but individual records may be redacted or withheld because of sealed cases, juvenile protections, victim information, medical information, security rules, or other legal restrictions. CDOC records and parole records may not show every internal note in a public search result.

For a BVCC release, request the narrow record needed rather than a broad file. Ask for the CDOC offender release or discharge record, release date, parole status, mandatory release date, transfer history, or supervision status tied to the specific DOC number. If the person was transferred rather than released, the receiving facility or custody status should be verified through CDOC. If the person is on parole, supervision continues until discharge or another parole action changes the status.

Federal and Immigration Transfers

BVCC is not a federal Bureau of Prisons facility and is not a Chaffee County jail facility. If the person left Colorado state custody for federal custody, use the federal Bureau of Prisons locator and federal records channels. BOP explains that its locator covers federal inmates from 1982 to present and that a past release date with no facility location indicates the person is no longer in BOP custody, though another supervision or justice system may still apply.

If immigration custody is suspected after a state or local custody event, use ICE's Online Detainee Locator System for people currently in ICE custody or in CBP custody more than 48 hours. An immigration transfer or federal hold changes where the next custody record lives. It should not be described as a Chaffee County community release or a BVCC final discharge unless CDOC and the receiving agency records support that conclusion.