Fugitive Ronald Fischer captured off New Jersey coast after 20‑year manhunt

Ronald L. Fischer, a former anesthesiologist and one of Rhode Island’s longest‑wanted fugitives, was seized aboard the 56‑foot sailboat The Silver Lining off the New York/New Jersey coastline. Fischer had fled in 2005 during a sexual‑assault trial and was convicted in absentia. The capture resulted from a tip by an online sleuth that led the FBI, U.S. Marshals, the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, and the U.S. Coast Guard to intercept the vessel. Authorities recovered the boat, which was registered under the alias “Richard Graydon,” and took Fischer into federal custody without incident. He is now being held pending extradition to Rhode Island to face the charges related to the 2003 assault and his flight from prosecution.