America's Most Wanted' fugitive laid blueprint for vanishing before 20-year escape: affidavit

A fugitive sought in the U.S. for more than 20 years was captured aboard a sailboat off New Jersey after authorities reviewed court documents describing his preparations to disappear. Ronald L. Fischer, 69, had been living under the alias Richard Graydon and did not return to Rhode Island Superior Court after vanishing during a trial in April 2005. A jury convicted him in his absence of first-degree sexual assault following the disappearance. According to a newly filed affidavit, Fischer emailed his attorney on April 23, 2005, saying he was fleeing the country, then called his daughters and arranged travel before canceling an American Airlines ticket to London. Investigators said he spent the days transferring vehicles, disposing of a Jaguar, and using identity-changing literature, after which an online tip helped locate the sailboat.