An Anesthesiologist Accused of Assault Fled and Evaded Capture for 21 Years

After successfully evading arrest for over two decades, disgraced Rhode Island anesthesiologist Ronald L. Fischer’s run from the law came to an abrupt end on July 16, 2026, aboard a 56-foot sailboat—The Silver Lining—that was skimming the chop of the Atlantic Ocean not far from the coast of New York and New Jersey.

According to federal investigators, the 70-year-old sex offender’s own vanity proved to be his undoing.

Fischer would spend approximately 21 years on Rhode Island’s Most Wanted Fugitives list after fleeing criminal prosecution in 2005. He was also profiled on America’s Most Wanted. Fischer had been arrested in 2003 for raping nursing student Cheryl Gingerich in Portsmouth, R.I., during an alleged incident aboard Fischer’s 60-foot yacht. He was charged with first-degree sexual assault, to which he pleaded not guilty.

In 1994, Fischer had pleaded guilty to assaulting a woman on his boat, resulting in his medical license being revoked in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The victim in that case accused him of slamming her head against a door, dragging her by the hair, and cutting off her airway in an attack that ended with her rape.

As his trial for the 2003 attack was nearing its end, Fischer reportedly sent an email to his defense lawyer, Robert Mann. It contained some unsettling news.

Fischer told Mann he was going on the lam.

“Although I believe my trial has gone very well, and [I] expect to be acquitted and dismissed, the small chance of losing could carry extremely and unacceptably harsh penalties,” reads Fischer’s missive to Mann.

Fischer, who had been the head of anesthesiology at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket as well as assistant professor at Brown University, further informed his lawyer he would be leaving the United States to “enjoy life in another country where I have long been carefully planning a good, safe, secure and comfortable life.” For years, it was believed Fischer—who’d been described by authorities as a “master yachtsman”—may have fled to Costa Rica, Brazil or even Canada.

But Fischer—who was convicted in absentia for first-degree sexual assault and still faces life behind bars—never left the U.S., federal investigators now say. Instead, he fled Rhode Island for points south before then heading west while still being wanted for failure to appear for trial, first-degree sexual assault and flight to avoid prosecution. After being apprehended in July 2026, he was charged with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Exactly 48 hours before his July 16 arrest, the task force on Fischer’s case received a tip from the FBI—complete with a professional headshot—suggesting Fischer was posing as a Dr. Richard Graydon in California.

The name was one investigators were wholly unfamiliar with, Elden DaSilva, the Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal for Rhode Island’s Violent Fugitive Task Force, confirms to A&E Crime + Investigation.

DaSilva says they had a “picture that looked like Fischer” that had been downloaded from the website of Los Angeles-based Immix Biopharma.

The photo’s caption identified Graydon as the clinical stage biopharmaceutical firm’s Chief Medical Officer. “We vetted this Richard Graydon out, and when we did that, we realized there was no history for him prior to 2016,” DaSilva explains, referring to when the alias was first used in the state of New York.

Prior to that, Fischer had only used the aliases Steve Harris, Ron Stevenson, Jeff Fischer, Jeff Fischer and Emery Fischer. “Given his age, we figured he would’ve had many more years of experience under his belt,” DaSilva continues, adding that he’s unaware of any other aliases Fischer may have used during his time on the run.

An Immix statement issued in March 2026 had declared Graydon “a board-certified hematologist-oncologist with over 20 years of experience in clinical development, most recently at Merck & Co. and Johnson & Johnson.” Both companies, however, have repeatedly denied ever employing a Richard Graydon; Fischer was fired from Immix following his arrest. DaSilva could not comment on how the wanted man managed to bypass background checks for employment.

“He was proud of being a doctor, and he loved being on the water and sailing,” DaSilva offers. “Those two things, if you think about it, got him caught. He had saved up quite a bit of money, and he had pretty significant financial resources, and he could’ve kept running. But he’s human. If you really peel the onion back, he couldn’t give up being a doctor, working in the medical field, and he couldn’t give up sailing, and that’s what got him caught.”

During Fischer’s rape trial, DaSilva claims he squirreled away cash to fund his life on the run and also read extensively on ways to avoid police detection.

“He did his homework. He did his research,” DaSilva admits. “While he was going through trial, that whole time, he was planning and researching. We found books in his home about changing your appearance and creating false identifications. He was looking into which countries are hostile to U.S. extradition efforts. He had a long time to plan and to prepare.”

Investigators have yet to piece together a concrete timeline tracing his whereabouts since 2005, so it remains unclear just where he was staying during time as a fugitive.

Former Rolling Hills Hospital CEO Bruce Podrat spoke briefly with A&E Crime + Investigation about cases like Fischer’s, but said in this specific instance, it remains a mystery how the fugitive sex offender continued working in his field.

Podrat—a partner at Practical Healthcare Solutions LLC, a Pennsylvania-based healthcare management consulting and litigation support firm—surmised that “something like this could only” have happened “via a combination of carelessness and [a] lack of proper oversight and internal system controls on the part of the various agencies and licensing authorities” involved.

It was also unclear if Fischer was actively trying to flee authorities when the U.S. Coast Guard Response Boat stopped The Silver Lining on July 16 to allow detectives aboard, DaSilva says. “I think his ‘Spidey senses’ were up a little bit, but I can’t really say for certain he knew we were onto him,” he explains.

Fischer’s relatives, including his daughter, could not be reached by A&E Crime + Investigation for comment.

In a 2025 interview, Gingerich called Fischer “an egotist” and “a narcissist” who cares only “about money and living the rich lifestyle and [being] a show-off.” Soon after his capture, Gingerich sued Fischer for “intentional, malicious and outrageous conduct” committed during the 2003 sexual assault and his decades-long run from justice. She’s seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, to be determined by a jury.

“When fugitives have the resources, the means and the will, they can get a pretty good jump on us,” DaSilva says, “and in this particular case, he did.”

Fischer’s November 2, 2026, sentencing was delayed in October to either December 18, 2026, or February 24, 2027, to permit for an extensive mental health evaluation. The doctor’s findings must be filed with the court by November 23.