This 1978 photo provided by the Florida Department of Corrections shows Frederick Barrett. (Florida Department of Corrections)

A murderer who escaped a Florida prison in 1979 has been arrested outside a cabin in Colorado.

U.S. marshals, dressed as forest service firefighters, went to the remote cabin near Montrose around 6:40 a.m. Wednesday and arrested Frederick Barrett, 60, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said in a release.

Local television station KJCT reported the officers had a short conversation with Barrett about fire activity in the area. A deputy noticed an identifying tattoo on his hand and Barrett was arrested.

Barrett, who had been living under the name Neil Meltzer, was sentenced to life on Feb. 8, 1971. He was convicted of murdering a travel companion, Carl Ardolino, by strangling him and holding his head underwater in a shallow ditch.

Barrett escaped on Aug. 17, 1979, by climbing three perimeter fences at night during a power outage.

Along with the escape charges he's facing in Florida, police said he will also likely be charged with drug and firearms offences in Colorado.