He got out through a skylight and onto a roof late Wednesday. He was last seen wearing white boxer shorts, a white T-shirt and rubber shoes, and nighttime temperatures in the area of northern Michigan have been in the 30s.
He may have obtained clothing and cut his hair, Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Casey Nemeth said in a statement Thursday evening.
Police were checking to see if he broke into an empty home or apartment in the campus town, home of Ferris State University, during the Thanksgiving break.