Paula Eileen Carroll, Escaped Convict Wanted for 35 Years, Captured on Her Birthday; Says "Glad It's Over"

MELBOURNE, Fla. (CBS/AP) Paula Eileen Carroll escaped from prison in 1975. Tuesday, nearly 35 years later, Brevard County, Fla. police tracked her down and put her back in jail.

The 56-year-old was sentenced to five years in prison on July 18, 1975, on charges of buying, receiving or concealing stolen property. She and another inmate disappeared less than two months later.

The other inmate was found, but Carroll had stolen the identity of a West Virginia woman named Sharon Brown, say police, and was living as her in Melbourne, Fla.

CBS affiliate WKMG said as Carroll walked from her car on Tuesday, her birthday, police arrested her. She told them, she had "been thinking about this day for a long time" and that she's "glad it's over," according to the Department of Corrections.

WKMG reported Carroll's neighbors were shocked at her arrest. They said she was a stay-at-home mom and was very involved in the community. They said she was often in the yard gardening or having a garage sale.

A tipster contacted the state corrections department on Monday.

Carroll is being held without bail.