Free Horry County Warrant Search: Check Wanted Status

Free Horry County Warrant Search
Find out if you or someone else has a warrant out for their arrest in Horry County, South Carolina, free of charge.

Run a free Horry County warrant search and uncover valuable information about outstanding court orders against yourself or anyone you know.

An array of tools — from free county resources to state-level assets — can be used to bring relevant information to light and deal with these court orders accordingly.

The South Carolina Public Records Law demands that certain information be made available to the public; it determines the agencies responsible for doing so and guarantees that public records are accessible so citizens can always be informed.

This resource covers the search tools available and explains how to use them so individuals can effectively find the warrant data they seek in Horry County, South Carolina.

Horry County Warrant Search: An Overview

There are several types of warrants that can be issued by a judge against a person. Information about warrants is public records and according to the South Carolina Freedom of Information Act should be readily available to anyone who might be concerned about a court order open against themselves or someone they know.1

In Horry County, warrants are kept and executed by the Sheriff’s Office, which also works with federal agencies to ensure orders are obeyed in their jurisdiction.2 It means that they have information regarding orders that come from the Judicial Circuit, the FBI, the U.S. Marshals and others.

However, in many cases, the best source of information about Horry County warrants is the Public Index Search, which allows concerned individuals to find information about all court cases in the area – including open or outstanding warrants.

While the County makes free tools available for citizens to search for warrant information, and law enforcement agencies are available to help when in a position to deal with a court order, people should always consider retaining an attorney. Those professionals can speak on their behalf and provide valuable counsel, which can make an enormous difference when dealing with an active warrant.

This article will go over all the options available for citizens searching for potential warrants against them so they can make the best possible decision to face their challenges.

How To Look Up Active Warrants in Horry County South Carolina

Warrants issued in Horry County are kept and executed by the Sheriff’s Office Warrant Department.3 The only information they provide online, however, is a contact number for citizens to reach out to: 843.915.8347.

As most people know (and everyone should keep in mind), whenever there’s a warrant open against them, contacting law enforcement directly might lead to their arrest. Therefore, this might not be the most efficient way to face this challenge.

This might be a good start when someone is seeking information about a warrant regarding someone else they know or are concerned about. However, for someone concerned about a court order they need to address, it’s convenient to be able to run online searches.

In Horry County, it can be done using the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Public Index Search.4 Frequently updated to reflect the current docket in the area, this online tool is free for all users. Anyone interested in any case being handled by the county court can search the system and find relevant information.

For those looking for warrant information, it’s important to be smart when searching and add filters to the inquiry to ensure that the results will bring valuable information. The goal is to uncover relevant facts regarding the potential active warrant at hand.

The Public Index Search allows concerned individuals to make inquiries by name. This tool is quite forgiving when only the last name is known and will yield results if a full name isn’t available. However, if the last name is common, the list of results might be too big to go over.

In order to search effectively, it’s useful to add criteria that will narrow the results. For example, it’s possible to select and see only criminal cases, cases that have warrants, input a date range, etc. Whatever the user thinks might help can be included as a criterion so the results are as targeted as possible.

A screenshot of the legal case management interface detailing a case identified by case number 1993CP2600791, involving multiple parties with varying roles, such as plaintiff, defendant, and third parties, along with their legal representatives, showing their names, addresses, roles, and the status updates in the proceedings of a Common Pleas court case, initially filed on 03/04/1993 and subsequently disposed on 10/26/1994.
Source: Fifteenth Judicial Circuit4

With some case information revealed by the Public Index Search, interested parties can take the necessary steps to address the outstanding warrant. If one of those steps involves working with the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, this is their full contact information:

Horry County Sheriff’s Office
1301 2nd Ave
Conway SC 29526

Phone: 843.915.5450
Fax: 843.915.6451
Email: [email protected]

Likewise, if one of the steps to take is to contact the Horry County Clerk of Courts for support or clarification, they have two different locations available to the public.5 Citizens can feel free to visit the location that’s more convenient for them. This is how people can reach out to the Clerk of Courts:

Horry County Clerk of Courts
Main Office
1301 2nd Ave
Conway, SC 29526

Phone: 843.915.5080
Fax: 843.915.6081
Email: [email protected]

Horry County Clerk of Courts
South Strand Branch
9630 Scipio Lane
Myrtle Beach, SC 29588

Phone: 843.915.5082

The Myrtle Beach Police Department provides the people of the city with a list of wanted individuals with active warrants, related to their jurisdiction.6 If the warrant that’s being searched is connected to an incident that happened in Myrtle Beach, this may be a good resource to use.

A screenshot of a public law enforcement database displaying a list of individuals with outstanding legal issues, detailing their names, alleged offenses, and the type of judicial documents issued against them, set against a blurred natural backdrop.
Source: Myrtle Beach Police Department6

The list doesn’t allow for searches by name, but it’s organized in alphabetical order. Just like it may happen with other agencies, if anyone wishes to contact the police department to seek help handling their warrants or to provide tips about those wanted persons, this is their contact information:7

Myrtle Beach Police Department
1101 N Oak St
Myrtle Beach, SC 29577

Phone: 843.918.1382

How To Review Warrants Issued Anywhere in South Carolina (Statewide Search)

In general, a warrant is issued by a judge in the county where the incident happened or where the court proceedings are being handled. Even for Horry County residents, it’s possible that an individual has a warrant issued against them anywhere in the state in instances when they were involved in an incident far from home.

For situations where searching all over South Carolina becomes necessary, there are tools available to help. For example, citizens can access lists with the most wanted offenders provided by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED).8 There are various lists available:

  • Fugitives in South Carolina;
  • The ten most wanted individuals;
  • List with the most wanted individuals in many counties.
A screenshot presenting a line-up of individuals on the official FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which includes various suspects sought after for serious offenses, indicating the federal nature of their alleged crimes without revealing identifiable details.
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation9

If a individual has information about one of those wanted persons or wishes to contact the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division, this is how they can do so:

SLED Headquarters
4400 Broad River Rd
Columbia, SC 29210

Phone: (803) 737-9000

Another resource, similar to the search discussed before for court cases in Horry County, is provided by the South Carolina Judicial Branch and facilitates inquiries in most of the state’s courts.10 This tool conveniently takes searchers to each county’s case record search, allowing them to run searches in all of South Carolina.

Of course, knowing which counties to look at is helpful. However, this platform provides a simplified search even when it isn’t known which county can have potentially issued the warrant of interest.

To start searching, users must simply select the county they wish to start on and click on it on the purple map. After that, they only have to follow the same steps provided in the previous section.

An illustrative map of South Carolina highlighting a specific county in the northeastern region, marked with a red arrow, to navigate through case records search in a statewide context.
Source: South Carolina Supreme Court10

Types of Warrants, What They Mean & Their Significance

Different types of warrants can be issued by a judge against any citizens they the courts find cause to do so. Those are some of the most common warrants issued in South Carolina:

  • Arrest Warrant is issued after a crime is committed, so the alleged perpetrator is brought in to be booked and arraigned. In many cases, the execution of an arrest warrant starts the court proceedings so that an individual can be tried for his actions.
  • Bench Warrant it’s similar to an arrest warrant but issued after a plea has been entered in a court case after there’s a failure on the offender’s part to comply with court proceedings. For example, if the person is a no-show at a hearing or another court event to which they should have appeared.
  • Fugitive Warrant also known as extradition warrant, is mostly issued against individuals who committed crimes in a different state outside of South Carolina. For a fugitive warrant to be issued, the crime must carry a sentence of at least one year or more.
  • Alias Warrant when someone receives a summons or a citation (both in person or by mail) demanding they appear at court on a certain date and time but fails to appear when scheduled, the judge may issue an alias warrant against them. This warrant is issued before a plea for a case is entered and when there was no previous need for an arrest warrant (perhaps because the offense wasn’t too grave).

Citizens should keep in mind that there are many types of warrants. When concerned about a potential warrant being issued against them, the best approach is to search for it and handle the situation as quickly as possible.

How To Handle an Active Warrant in Horry County South Carolina

There are ways to be proactive when dealing with a warrant in Horry County. One of those ways is to contact law enforcement to address it. The Horry County Sheriff’s Office prides itself on working in cooperation with different agencies, such as the FBI, ICE and the U.S Marshals, to execute all sorts of warrants.

There isn’t a lot of information on the Sheriff’s Office website regarding how to work with them when there’s an active warrant. This is likely so because they hope people will come to them in person and, if they do that, they’ll be arrested on the spot, making the deputies’ lives much easier.

If, albeit aware of the risk, the individual still wishes to contact the Sheriff’s Office, this is how they can do so:11

Horry County Sheriff’s Office
1301 2nd Ave
Conway SC 29526

Phone: 843.915.5450
Fax: 843.915.6451
Email: [email protected]

When faced with an open warrant, those are the steps people should take:

  • Hire an experienced attorney. This professional will be able to provide sensible counsel and guide the concerned citizen as they handle the warrant. They can also contact law enforcement and the courts on their client’s behalf.
  • Check if there’s anything that can be done to fix the problem. In some cases, by paying a fine (or a debt) or by making arrangements to appear in court, people can take care of warrants against them. This is not a rule, but there are cases fairly easy to resolve.
  • If the best course of action is to turn themselves in, citizens should contact family members and friends and let them know of what’s about to happen. They should also connect with a bondsman to make sure a plan is in place to get them out of jail as soon as possible.

It doesn’t matter if the search is for a court order against themselves or someone they care about. When faced with a tough situation, people can always rely on the available tools to perform a Horry County warrant search. Being informed helps people make the best possible decision to solve a problem and move forward.


References

1South Carolina State House. (n.d.). Title 30 – Public records, chapter 4 – Freedom of Information Act. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t30c004.php>

2Horry County Sheriff’s Office. (n.d.). Sheriff’s Office. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://www.horrycountysc.gov/departments/sheriffs-office/>

3Horry County Sheriff’s Office. (n.d.). Warrant information. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://www.horrycountysc.gov/departments/sheriffs-office/additional-services/warrant-info/>

4South Carolina Judicial Branch. (n.d.). Public index. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://publicindex.sccourts.org/horry/publicindex/>

5Horry County Clerk of Court. (n.d.). Clerk of Court. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://www.horrycountysc.gov/departments/clerk-of-court/#contact>

6City of Myrtle Beach Police Department. (n.d.). Wanted list. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://p2c.cityofmyrtlebeach.com/p2c/wantedlist.aspx>

7City of Myrtle Beach Police Department. (n.d.). Police Department. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://police.cityofmyrtlebeach.com/myrtle-beach/>

8South Carolina Law Enforcement Division. (n.d.). Wanted by SLED. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://www.sled.sc.gov/wanted#local>

9Federal Bureau of Investigation. (n.d.). FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://www.fbi.gov/wanted/topten/>

10South Carolina Judicial Branch. (n.d.). Case search. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://www.sccourts.org/casesearch/>

11Horry County Sheriff’s Office. (n.d.). Contact us. Retrieved January 6, 2024, from <https://www.horrycountysc.gov/departments/sheriffs-office/#contact>