Sex Assault Fugitive Busted on a Yacht After 21 Years

A long-missing Rhode Island fugitive was finally hauled in on the water this week. Authorities say former anesthesiologist Ronald Fischer, convicted in absentia of first-degree sexual assault in 2005, was arrested aboard a 56-foot yacht about an hour off the New Jersey coast, reports CBS News. Fischer vanished during his trial for a 2003 assault on a woman on his boat and spent more than two decades on the run, during which he was spotlighted on America's Most Wanted and listed among Rhode Island's most sought fugitives.

Investigators say a fresh tip triggered a 48-hour push by the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, FBI, state police, and US Marshals that led them to New York, where they tracked a vessel called "The Silver Lining," registered under the alias "Richard Graydon." Fischer was arrested without incident and taken to New York, where he is in federal and local custody. "This arrest demonstrates that time does not erase accountability," said Wing Chau, US Marshal for the District of Rhode Island, per NBC 4. "For more than 20 years, Ronald Fischer believed he had successfully escaped justice... Thanks to outstanding investigative work, exceptional intelligence analysis, and seamless coordination between agencies, Fischer is finally in custody."