I think LE intentionally put out the bald/short hair description because they didn't really need to identify him at that time. They knew who he was and were likely watching him. They didn't want him to cut his dreads! We don't learn about the man with dreads description until after he takes off on the 20th. . .when LE really does need the public to be on the look out for him.
MOO
Umm. I don't think so. It makes no sense. The video was released very shortly after the description. WG came to the LE when the word came out about Hannah being missing but before the tapes were released. He gave the description from memory--who knows what his condition was that night and he was not focusing on JM. He must have felt foolsih when he saw the tapes.
LE had to have JM under the radar before he came to the police station. They tracked down his car to his apartment and certainly to his ownership, served him with a warrent, searched and seized the car, searched the apt , confiscated his cell phone. His ID was not released by LE because there were no charges on him. He was just a POI. The Daily Mail, a tabloid was what released his name, not LE. They were not at all even focused on JM, just the car that night they searched and seized it. He and his roommates left the area and LE there didn't even really know when. No one was really keeping an eye out on them.