Ronald L. Fischer, once featured on “America’s Most Wanted,” meticulously planned his disappearance over 20 years ago. New court documents reveal his strategies, including correspondences with his attorney, a scrapped flight to London, and guides on altering identities discovered at his residence.
Now 69, Fischer was apprehended on Thursday while aboard a sailboat off the coast of New Jersey. His capture marks the end of his long evasion since vanishing from a Rhode Island sexual assault trial over two decades prior.
An online sleuth provided the crucial tip that led to this breakthrough, as confirmed by the FBI last week. The information guided the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Service to Fischer’s hideout, where he lived under the pseudonym Richard Graydon, resulting in his eventual capture.
A “Captured” banner now marks the Rhode Island State Police wanted photo of Ronald L. Fischer, following his arrest years after escaping during his sexual assault trial. (FBI)
In April 2005, Fischer vanished mid-trial and never returned to the Rhode Island Superior Court. A jury convicted him of first-degree sexual assault in his absence, triggering a relentless two-decade search that finally concluded last week with his apprehension.
The newly reviewed affidavit provides the first detailed account of what investigators uncovered in the days after Fischer disappeared.
A federal affidavit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island says Fischer emailed his attorney on April 23, 2005, telling him he was fleeing the country.
Later that evening, he called each of his daughters and said he was leaving the U.S. Investigators also determined Fischer contacted a New York travel agency before purchasing an American Airlines ticket from Boston to London, then canceled the reservation before boarding the flight.
Ronald L. Fischer, a former anesthesiologist and one of Rhode Island’s longest-wanted fugitives, was captured after more than 20 years on the run, authorities said. (Rhode Island State Police)
Hours later, surveillance cameras captured Fischer returning a rental car to an Enterprise location in Boston shortly after midnight before walking away carrying two travel bags over his shoulder.
Investigators wrote that Fischer spent the days before his disappearance putting his affairs in order. He transferred vehicles to each of his daughters, instructed them to remove their belongings from his home and disposed of a Jaguar before vanishing.
Authorities also reviewed an email Fischer allegedly sent to attorney Robert Mann in which they said he explained he had decided not to risk being convicted in state court and instead planned to leave the U.S. to enjoy what he described as “a good, safe, secure and comfortable life.”
A search of Fischer’s home uncovered literature explaining how people could change their identities and disappear.
Fischer’s ex-wife, Dr. Nancy Stein, told investigators he was well traveled, had friends in other parts of the world –including Brazil –and believed he might attempt to charter a boat.
The U.S. Marshals Service told News Media investigators believe Fischer likely left the U.S. by boat after disappearing in 2005. Authorities also believe he paid more than $1 million for the 56-foot sailboat “Silver Lining,” though they have not yet confirmed when or how he acquired the vessel.
Investigators believe Fischer had been using the alias Richard Graydon since at least 2017, adding he may have adopted it earlier. Authorities also said Fischer may have alternated between living aboard the sailboat and staying on shore during his years as a fugitive.
A Rhode Island State Police wanted poster of Ronald L. Fischer displays a “Captured” banner after authorities arrested the former fugitive more than 20 years after he disappeared during his sexual assault trial. Newly reviewed court records detail the steps investigators say Fischer took before vanishing in 2005. (Getty Images ; Rhode Island State Police)
Federal authorities ultimately obtained an unlawful flight warrant, alleging Fischer had traveled in interstate or foreign commerce to avoid prosecution.
Fischer’s years on the run ended Thursday when investigators intercepted the 56-foot sailboat “Silver Lining” off the New Jersey coast after what the FBI described as “a tip from an online sleuth.”
He was taken into custody without incident during a coordinated operation involving the FBI, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Coast Guard and other law enforcement agencies.
The U.S. Marshals Service did not immediately respond to News Media’s request for additional information about where Fischer spent the past two decades, when he first adopted the alias Richard Graydon or how he acquired the sailboat where he was ultimately captured.