A doctor who spent more than two decades on the run after fleeing a rape trial has been found living aboard a sailboat off the US coast. Ronald L. Fischer, 70, described as 'one of Rhode Island's most wanted fugitives,' was arrested on Thursday after investigators tracked him to the 56-foot Silver Lining near the New York-New Jersey coastline. He was allegedly operating the vessel under the name Richard Graydon.
Arrest Details
A combined team of US Marshals and FBI agents intercepted the sailboat around an hour offshore with additional help from the US Coast Guard. Fischer was taken into custody without incident, officials said. He was then transported to Coast Guard Station Staten Island in New York and handed over to local law enforcement. Fingerprints taken by the Marshals Service and analysed by the FBI confirmed his identity, according to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office.
Background of the Case
The former anaesthesiologist disappeared from Rhode Island in 2005 while standing trial over allegations he had sexually assaulted a woman on his yacht. He was subsequently convicted in absentia of first-degree sexual assault. The woman testified that she had met Fischer online and was on a first date with him in 2003 when the assault took place aboard his 60-foot boat Lion King, docked at Portsmouth Marina. She later told police: 'All I could think of was, I am alone in the bottom of this boat and no one will hear me if I scream.'
Fischer vanished before the trial concluded. He reportedly sent his lawyers an email with the subject line 'Goodbye,' saying he was leaving the United States rather than risk conviction. He wrote that he intended 'to enjoy life in another country where I have long been carefully planning a good, safe, secure and comfortable life.'
Evasion Techniques
Authorities described Fischer as a skilled sailor with international connections who used several aliases. He was featured multiple times on America's Most Wanted as investigators pursued reported sightings over the years. He managed a full 21 years of evading law enforcement. Books about evading law enforcement were found during a search of Fischer's residence, the district attorney's office told NBC News New York. Investigators also determined that he had used an 'onion router' to conceal his IP addresses and avoid digital identification.
End of the Search
The search ended after authorities received new vital information about Fischer's whereabouts. The Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force worked with the FBI, US Marshals, and Coast Guard to locate him. Fischer was arrested on a US Marshals Service warrant for 'unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.' He was arraigned in Manhattan on Friday, where the district attorney's office said he was remanded and had waived extradition.
Wing Chau, US marshal for the District of Rhode Island, said: 'This arrest demonstrates that time does not erase accountability. For more than twenty years, Ronald Fischer believed he had successfully escaped justice. The men and women of the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, together with our partners, remained committed to ensuring that day would eventually come.'
Impact on the Victim
The arrest brought one of Rhode Island's longest-running fugitive searches to an end. The victim told Providence broadcaster NBC 10 WJAR that the assault had consumed almost every aspect of her life. She said it left her afraid to leave home and forced her to abandon her career as an English professor. Reacting to Fischer's arrest, she said: 'I always lived in fear of seeing him again because I never felt that he was far away.' She told the broadcaster she was celebrating the news.
