America’s most wanted fugitive had a detailed plan to vanish before he disappeared over 20 years ago. Newly reviewed court documents reveal he exchanged emails with his lawyer, booked and then canceled flights to London, and had identity change documents found in his residence.
Ronald L. Fisher, now 69, was apprehended on a sailboat off the coast of New Jersey after evading authorities for more than two decades. He went missing during a sexual assault trial in Rhode Island.
The FBI shared that a breakthrough occurred when an online detective alerted them, leading to Fisher’s discovery on the sailboat where he had been living under the alias Richard Graydon.
Fisher had not appeared in Rhode Island Superior Court since his trial in April 2005. After his flight, he was convicted by a jury of first-degree sexual assault. Authorities spent years attempting to locate him until they finally made the arrest last week.
According to the affidavit examined, Fisher informed his attorney via email on April 23, 2005, that he was leaving the country. Later that same evening, he called his daughters to tell them of his plans. Investigators found he had reached out to a travel agent in New York and booked an American Airlines ticket from Boston to London, though he canceled before taking off.
Surveillance footage captured him returning a rental car to an Enterprise location in Boston shortly after midnight, carrying two travel bags.
In the days leading up to his disappearance, Fisher was reportedly getting his affairs in order. He gifted cars to both daughters, advised them to remove their belongings, and disposed of his Jaguar.
Fisher described his intention in an email to his lawyer: he wanted to leave to avoid a potential conviction and enjoy a “good, safe, secure, comfortable life.” A search of Fisher’s home yielded literature on changing identities and disappearing.
His ex-wife, Dr. Nancy Stein, noted that Fisher traveled frequently and had connections worldwide, including in Brazil, hinting he might try to escape by boat. The U.S. Marshals suggested Fisher may have left the United States by boat shortly after he vanished and that he possibly spent over $1 million for a 56-foot vessel named Silver Lining.
It’s believed he had been using the alias Richard Graydon since at least 2017, although he might have adopted it earlier. Authorities suspect he alternated between living on the boat and on land while evading capture.
Ultimately, federal authorities secured an unlawful flight warrant against him for fleeing to avoid prosecution. Fisher’s evasion came to an end on Thursday when the FBI seized the Silver Lining, following a tip-off from an online detective.
He was taken into custody without any incidents during a coordinated operation that included the FBI, U.S. Marshals, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
The U.S. Marshals have yet to provide additional details about Fisher’s two decades on the run, including when he first assumed the alias and how he came to possess the sailboat where he was finally captured.
