BERKELEY, Calif. -- A missing Texas university student who was found in Berkeley Wednesday night after disappearing in December told police he had spent most of the past eight months on the University of California, Berkeley campus, police said.

Matthew Wilson, 21, told a Berkeley police detective he sometimes slept alongside campus buildings, Berkeley police spokeswoman Mary Kusmiss said today.

Wilson, who disappeared from Rice University just before the holidays, was found by a UC Berkeley police officer in Dwinelle Hall shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to university police Assistant Chief Mitch Celaya.

The officer, who was conducting a security check of the building, found Wilson in a classroom by himself using audio-visual equipment that was connected to a laptop with scraped-off serial numbers.

Police believe the laptop was stolen and arrested Wilson, Celaya said.

Celaya said Wilson appeared to be in good physical shape.

"He seemed to be in fairly good health," Celaya said. "Physically, he did not seem to be in distress."

Celaya said Wilson initially gave the officer a fake name before providing his true identity and that police later learned he was the Rice University student who had been reported missing.

He was arrested on charges of possession of stolen property, possession of burglary tools and lying to a peace officer about his identity, Celaya said.

Wilson spent the night at a local medical facility where he remained this afternoon, and will be taken into UC police custody upon release, Celaya said.

According to the Berkeley Police Department, Wilson told a Berkeley police detective who had been working closely with Rice University that he had been "living on the streets" in recent months.

He shared with the detective "that he had decided to come west and disappear," Berkeley police spokeswoman Mary Kusmiss said.

"Our assessment is that Matthew Wilson is facing some challenges in his life and some of them are complex," she said.

Wilson is a resident of Haworth, Okla., and went missing Dec. 15, 2007 from his apartment in Houston, Texas, where Wilson was a junior at Rice University.

Berkeley police became involved after Wilson's 2004 silver Dodge Neon was found on June 10 in the 1200 block of Allston Way in Berkeley.

In addition to police, the local volunteer group Trinity Search and Recovery investigated his whereabouts, combing Bay Area streets on multiple occasions. In July, Cathy Wilson, Matt's mom, flew to the Bay Area and helped search.

Bridget Melson, co-founder of the group, said Thursday, "I think it's awesome that he's been found alive and well. Many of these cases end in a bad way."

She said Cathy Wilson is coming to the Bay Area Friday and is excited but concerned.

Melson said notes written by Wilson, who studied computer science at Rice University, indicated that he may have engaged himself in online games and possibly an online culture that promoted anarchy.

In a prepared statement, Rice University Police Chief Bill Taylor said, "We're very happy and relieved to hear that Matthew is alive."