Berkeley, Calif. — A Rice University student who had been missing since December was found by the police on the University of California’s campus here on Wednesday, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The student, Matthew J. Wilson, a 21-year-old junior majoring in computer science, disappeared from Houston eight months ago, after withdrawing $500 from an ATM. His disappearance made national news and prompted an extensive search.

Campus police officers here found Mr. Wilson alone in a Berkeley classroom with a laptop and immediately detained him on suspicion of theft, according to the Mercury News. The student had shaved his beard and cut his hair since December.

He told investigators that he “wanted to come West and disappear,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. —Josh Keller