Overview
- Federal marshals and U.S. Coast Guard personnel arrested Ronald L. Fischer without incident aboard a 56-foot sailboat called The Silver Lining about an hour off the New York‑New Jersey coast.
- Investigators say the arrest followed a roughly 48-hour intelligence push by the U.S. Marshals, the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, FBI agents and state police that developed credible leads to his location.
- The Silver Lining was registered under the alias Richard Graydon, a name Fischer used while living as a fugitive and using multiple identities to avoid capture.
- After his July 17 arrest, Fischer was transferred to U.S. Marshals custody in New York and authorities are determining whether to file federal unlawful‑flight charges or move forward with extradition to Rhode Island to address his 2005 conviction.
- Fischer fled during his 2005 trial and was convicted in absentia of first‑degree sexual assault; his capture closes a decades‑long search and could bring long‑awaited court proceedings and closure for the victim.