German authorities say they've apprehended a notorious elderly neo-Nazi and taken her to prison to begin serving her sentence for Holocaust denial.

Police and prosecutors told the dpa news agency Monday that Ursula Haverbeck, 89, was picked up at her home in the town of Vlotho in central Germany.

Haverbeck was convicted of incitement last year in Verden state court and sentenced to two years in prison for denying the Holocaust, a crime in Germany. She was supposed to report to prison last week but vanished, prompting a search for her. It was not immediately clear when she returned home.

Haverbeck has repeatedly said the Auschwitz death camp in Nazi-occupied Poland was simply a work camp and has been convicted several times, but had avoided prison due to lengthy appeals.