Former Rhode Island anesthesiologist fugitive captured off NJ

A former Rhode Island anesthesiologist who fled his child sexual assault trial more than two decades ago was captured aboard a sailboat off the coast of New Jersey on July 16, 2026, ending one of the state's longest-running fugitive investigations. Ronald L. Fischer, 70, was taken into custody without incident by a multi-agency law enforcement team after a tip from an online sleuth led investigators to his vessel.

Fischer had been a fugitive since 2005, when he disappeared from Newport, Rhode Island, during his trial for the alleged 2003 sexual assault of a woman on his yacht, the Lion King. The trial proceeded in his absence, and a jury convicted him of first-degree sexual assault. He was also wanted on warrants for failure to appear and flight to avoid prosecution. His case was featured multiple times on the television program "America's Most Wanted" during his years on the run.

The breakthrough came when investigators, acting on a tip, developed new intelligence that led them to a 56-foot sailboat named The Silver Lining, which was operating off the New York-New Jersey coastline. Authorities said the boat was registered under the alias "Richard Graydon," one of several...