Fugitive doctor on run for 20 years found with how-to books on evading law enforcement

Published: 19:48, 19 July 2026 | Updated: 19:51, 19 July 2026 A fugitive doctor from Rhode Island who spent more than 20 years dodging his own rape trial has finally been captured, after being found living aboard a sailboat off the US coast. Ronald L. Fischer, 70, was arrested on Thursday by US Marshals, after investigators received new information about his whereabouts and tracked him to a 56-foot sailing vessel named 'The Silver Lining' near the New York-New Jersey coastline. Agents working with the FBI intercepted the boat about an hour offshore and took Fischer into custody without incident, according to US Marshals.  Fischer was arrested on a United States Marshals Service warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. Fischer was then transported aboard the U.S. Coast Guard vessel to Coast Guard Station Staten Island, New York, where custody was transferred to local law enforcement officials. Officials discovered that Fischer had been operating the sailboat under the name Richard Graydon - one of the many alias's investigators say he used while hiding from authorities. Books on how to evade law enforcement were discovered During a search of Fischer's residence, and it was determined that he had been using an 'onion router' to conceal his IP addresses and avoid identification, the district attorney’s office said to NBC News New York.  The former anesthesiologist had been on the run since 2005, when he disappeared from Rhode Island during his trial on charges stemming from allegations that he sexually assaulted 46-year-old Cheryl Gingerich aboard his yacht. Ronald L. Fischer, 70, was captured on July 16 after a 21 year manhunt after he vanished from his sexual assault trial in 2005 Fischer was living under the alias Richard Graydon aboard a 56-foot sailboat named The Silver Lining Ronald Fischer was convicted in absentia of first-degree sexual assault in Rhode Island after fleeing his 2005 trial Gingerich had testified at the time of the trial that she and Fischer were on their first date after meeting online and were onboard his 60-foot boat 'Lion King' docked in Portsmouth Marina when the rape took place. According to NBC, during the 2003 assault 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'. In 2005, Fischer sent an email to his attorneys titled 'Goodbye', stating he was leaving the United States rather then risking conviction, adding he intended 'to enjoy life in another country where I have long been carefully planning a good, safe, secure and comfortable life'.    Despite fleeing before the conclusion of the trial, Fischer was later convicted in absentia of first-degree sexual assault and remained wanted for failing to appear in court and flight to avoid prosecution. For years, authorities described him as a skilled sailor with international connections who had used multiple aliases while staying one step ahead of law enforcement. Fischer was featured multiple times on America's Most Wanted as detectives and Rhode Island State Police chased numerous reported sightings over the years. His decades-long escape finally came to an end after investigators received new information about his whereabouts and launched a coordinated operation involving the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, the FBI, US Marshals and the Coast Guard, according to the press release. According to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, as per East Bay RI, fingerprints taken from Fischer by the Marshals Service and analyzed by the FBI confirmed that he was the same man on trial for rape charges in Rhode Island 21 years ago. Fischer was arraigned in Manhattan on Friday, as per NBC's reports that according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, he was 'remanded and waived extradition. The arrest brought an end to one of Rhode Island’s longest-running fugitive searches.   'This arrest demonstrates that time does not erase accountability,' said Wing Chau, the U.S. marshal for the District of Rhode Island. '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.' Gingerich, told 10WJAR that she too was celebrating Fischer's arrest. The trauma of the incident consumed nearly every aspect of her life, she said, leaving her afraid to leave her home and forcing her to abandon her career as an English professor. 'I always lived in fear of seeing him again because I never felt that he was far away,' she told the outlet. Fischer was arraigned in Manhattan on Friday, as per NBC's reports that according to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, he was 'remanded and waived extradition.' The Daily Mail has reached out to The Manhattan District Attorney Office and Cheryl Gingerich for comment.