Missing Rice student found at UC-Berkeley campus

When he was found Wednesday night, Matthew Wilson was dressed in a black T-shirt, black jeans and black athletic shoes. His hair was short and he had no beard. When he was found Wednesday night, Matthew Wilson was dressed in a black T-shirt, black jeans and black athletic shoes. His hair was short and he had no beard. Photo: Berkeley Police Department Photo: Berkeley Police Department Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Missing Rice student found at UC-Berkeley campus 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A Rice University computer science student whose disappearance eight months ago made national news was found Wednesday, not begging in the streets or roughing it in the wilderness, but using a laptop at the University of California, Berkeley.

Matthew Wilson, 21, was in temporary custody today pending an evaluation after a campus police officer discovered him in a classroom, according to police.

"You don't know how good I feel about this. It is better than anything in the world," his mother, Cathy Wilson, said by phone this morning from her home in Oklahoma.

"We know he is alive and physically OK," she said. "I've got to gun it out there."

As of this morning, he was being kept in a health-care facility, his mother said.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that UC Berkeley Assistant Police Chief Mitch Celaya said late Wednesday that the laptop Wilson was using was stolen. They have started a theft investigation, but no charges been filed.

Wilson had shaved off his beard since withdrawing $500 from his bank account and mysteriously leaving Houston in December and failing to turn in all of his exams.

He apparently didn't say goodbye to anyone or let them know where he was going or what he planned to do.

Wilson had applied to four universities, including UC Berkeley, but he enrolled at Rice because he received a full scholarship there, his mother said.

His disappearance touched off widespread speculation on what could have pushed him to abandon what many would see as a life of opportunity.

Some speculated that Wilson might have taken up an Into the Wild-type journey, such as what was portrayed in the 2007 movie about a college student who abandoned his life and headed for the wilds of California, Alaska and other places.

Wilson's car was found in June, abandoned on a residential street in Berkeley. Inside, police found a scattering of clothes and books, but Wilson apparently was no longer using the vehicle.

His family said he hadn't touched his bank account or used his credit cards, and they were at a loss as to why he would retreat from his life.

Cathy Wilson said her son probably is in delicate shape and that she won't pepper him with questions about why he left or what he's been doing.

"I'm not going to say, 'Woe is me, Matthew, look what you've put me through,' '' she said. "I want him to be all right. If he is living a good life, fine. If he is living on the streets, I'm not going to have that."

She suspects that the stress of trying to be excellent at school finally got to him.

As recently as two weeks ago, Cathy Wilson was on the Berkeley campus and the surrounding area to put up handbills regarding his disappearance.

B.J. Almond, a spokesman for the Rice University Police Department, said investigators are still gathering information about how Wilson was discovered.

"We're real grateful to hear he's alive, but we're still trying to get all the facts straight" he said.

Private search groups had gotten involved in searching for Wilson. His family, along with Rice, offered up to $25,000 for information on his whereabouts.

dane.schiller@chron.com