Fugitive arrested after almost 50 years in hiding

Robert Stackowitz walked away from a minimum security prison in Georgia in 1968, where he had been sentenced to serve 17 years for robbery by force. Nearly 50 years later, authorities have finally tracked him down.

Stackowitz had reportedly been living for at least 26 years in a small Connecticut town near the state's border with New York, where he owned a home. He was arrested by state troopers and U.S. marshals Monday and charged with being a fugitive from justice, The Hartford Courant reports.

Stackowitz was originally arrested in 1966. After being convicted, he escaped from the Carroll County Correctional Institution two years later. Five months ago, the Georgia Department of Corrections Fugitive Apprehension unit reopened the case and tracked down Stackowitz by matching the photo on his driver's license with the one they had on file.

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"Once it was confirmed, they contacted the U.S. Marshal's Service in the area to assist with the arrest," Georgia prison system spokeswoman Gwendolyn Hogan said.