Fugitive on the run for more than 20 years finally caught with books on how to evade police

A Fugitive who had been on the run for more than 20 years has finally been caught - with books on how to evade police.

Ronald Fischer, a former doctor from Rhode Island, has been apprehended after spending more than two decades evading justice, the US Marshals Service confirmed.

Described as one of the state's longest-wanted fugitives, Fischer vanished midway through his 2005 trial on a charge of first-degree sexual assault.

The original accusation dated back to 2003, when Fischer allegedly raped a woman aboard his boat, named the "Lion King," according to NBC New York.

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After he failed to appear in court, Fischer was found guilty in absentia of first-degree sexual assault.

He subsequently faced additional charges of failure to appear and flight to avoid prosecution.

Authorities acted swiftly after receiving a credible tip earlier this week regarding Fischer's location.

Members of the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force were dispatched to New York, where they established that Fischer had been sailing a 56-foot vessel called "The Silver Lining."

The boat was registered under the name Richard Graydon, which investigators identified as a false identity adopted by Fischer.

The US Marshals Service and the Coast Guard intercepted the boat around an hour from shore, taking him into custody without incident.

The operation brought together multiple agencies, including the Marshals Service's New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, the Southern District of New York Marshals Service, and the Coast Guard.

A search of Fischer's residence uncovered books detailing methods for evading law enforcement, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office revealed.

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He had also been employing an "onion router", a tool designed to mask his internet activity.

Investigators also discovered email correspondence between Fischer and relatives who had allegedly been helping him stay hidden from authorities.

The FBI played a key role in verifying Fischer's identity.

Fingerprints collected by the Marshals Service were sent to the bureau for analysis, which confirmed that the man detained off the New York coast was indeed the same individual convicted of rape in Rhode Island 21 years earlier.

Cheryl Gingerich, Fischer's victim, described how the assault's aftermath had permeated virtually every part of her existence, leaving her too frightened to venture outside and ultimately compelling her to give up her profession as an English professor.

She told NBC 10: "I always lived in fear of seeing him again because I never felt that he was far away."

Wing Chau, the US marshal for Rhode Island, said: "This arrest demonstrates that time does not erase accountability."

Fischer appeared before a Manhattan court on Friday, where he was remanded into custody and waived extradition.

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