TDCJ runs Gurney as an intake and receiving facility, and Transient is one of its published custody levels, so a record here can name a different prison a few weeks later. Search by name to confirm where he is now and start sending letters, photos, and money.
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Gurney’s job is turnover. TDCJ lists Inmate Intake and Receiving among the facility’s operations, and the 2018 PREA audit, the most recent one published for this facility, counted 9,319 admissions in the preceding twelve months and described roughly 200 intakes per week. Of those admissions, 3,651 stayed thirty days or more, which means most did not.
The same audit put the average stay at about four months and said people are normally moved to another TDCJ facility within two years. Treat those numbers as a description of how the place works, not as today’s figures. They were recorded in March 2018, when the facility was configured for 2,128 people, not the 1,130 TDCJ lists now, and no newer count has been published.
The practical version is simpler. A locator result naming Gurney tells you where he was when the record was written. Check it again before you drive, before you mail anything, and before you set up a phone account.
TDCJ publishes Gurney’s custody levels as G1 through G3 and Transient. The first three are ordinary general population classifications. Transient is different: it is the designation for someone between assignments, not someone serving out time at this facility.
If the locator shows Transient, that is not an error and it is not a sign that something went wrong. It is the system saying he has not landed yet. Expect the unit on his record to change, and expect it to change without anyone telling you.
8 of 8 questions
Use TDCJ's statewide Inmate Search at inmate.tdcj.texas.gov, then read the unit name in the result instead of assuming it still says Gurney. This is an intake facility, so the unit on a record written a few weeks ago may already be out of date.
Inmate SearchTransient is one of Gurney's published custody levels, alongside G1 through G3. It means he is between assignments, not settled at the facility. It is a normal status at an intake unit and not a sign that anything has gone wrong.
Inmate SearchThe 2018 PREA audit, the most recent published for this facility, recorded an average stay of about four months and said people are normally moved on within two years. That figure predates the period when the facility was idled, and TDCJ has not published a newer one.
Inmate SearchMost likely he was transferred, which is what this facility exists to do. The locator will show his current unit. Gurney shares one property with Coffield, Michael, Powledge and Beto, so the new assignment is often close by, but it can be anywhere in Texas.
Inmate SearchNo. It was idled after 2020 and has since reopened. TDCJ's current unit directory lists it as operating, with a senior warden, 434 employees and a capacity of 1,130, and it appears in TDCJ's live visitation schedule.
FacilityNo. They are separate prisons on the same farm-to-market road. Gurney is 1385 FM 3328, Palestine, TX 75803. Beto is 1391 FM 3328, Tennessee Colony, TX 75880. Different numbers, different cities, different ZIPs, and different phone numbers.
FacilityThe person's TDCJ number, current unit of assignment, and basic record information. The TDCJ number is the thing you need most: mail, deposits and phone registration all key to that number, not to the facility.
Inmate SearchPeople arrive at Gurney from county jails, and the record has to be created before the locator can return it. If a recent arrival does not appear yet, check again over the following days instead of assuming the search is broken.
Inmate SearchSaturday and Sunday, 8:00 AM to 5:30 PM, and why the assignment matters more here.
View ArticleDeposits follow the TDCJ number, so a transfer does not strand the balance.
View ArticleThe Dallas routing, and the Beto address six numbers up the same road.
View ArticleSecurus registration, and the four units sharing one phone exchange.
View ArticleSearch for your loved one and start sending photos, letters, and messages today.
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All information on this page comes directly from official government and facility sources. How we verify information › Last verified August 29, 2026.