How do I find out if an easement was ever released?

A release only counts once it is recorded, so the answer is in the county records. Start with the original easement and note its book and page or instrument number. Then search the recorder's grantor and grantee index for later documents that cite it, using the names of the holder and every owner since.

Look for titles such as release of easement, termination of easement, vacation order or quitclaim. Releases are often indexed under the holder's name, so searching only under your own name can miss them. Later deeds that say property is "subject to" an easement do not prove it still exists, since the language is often copied forward.

If your title commitment lists the easement as an exception, ask the title company to confirm in writing whether it is still valid. If they find a recorded release, they can often remove the exception or insure over it. If nothing is recorded, assume the easement stands.

What this looks like in practice

A title commitment lists a 1962 utility easement as an exception. The recorder's index shows no release under the utility's name, but a 1998 replat omitted the strip. The title company reviews the replat and agrees to remove the exception, citing the recorded plat.

In another case, a deed in the chain says the lot is "subject to a ten foot easement of record" and the buyer assumes it is live. A search of the index finds a recorded release from 1985. The deed language was simply copied forward, and the release controls.