The word for today is…
abscond (verb) – To leave quickly and secretly and hide oneself, often to avoid arrest or prosecution.
Source : The Free Dictionary
Etymology : Abscond derives from Latin abscondere, meaning “to hide away,” a product of the prefix ab- and condere, a verb meaning “to conceal.” (Condere is also the root for recondite, a word meaning “concealed” as well as “hard to understand” or “obscure.”) Abscond retained the meaning of its Latin parent when it was first used in English in the 17th century. In general usage, abscond refers to any act of running away and hiding (usually from the law and often with funds), but in legal circles, the word is used specifically when someone who has already become the focus of a legal proceeding hides or takes off in order to evade the legal process, as in “absconded from parole.”