Danielle (Ottobre) Imbo and Richard A. Petrone Jr. are an American couple who disappeared together on February 19, 2005, after visiting a bar on
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
's
South Street. Their case remains unsolved.
Background
Imbo, age 34, was a resident of
Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, and was separated from her husband at the time of her disappearance.
Petrone, age 35, resided in Philadelphia and worked at his family's bakery. The couple had been involved in what family and friends describe as an "
on again, off again
On, on, or ON may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews
* ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin
* ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995
* ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001
* ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 20 ...
" romantic relationship.
On the evening of Saturday, February 19, 2005, Imbo and Petrone joined another couple for drinks at Abilene's bar and restaurant located at 429 South Street in Philadelphia. Witnesses stated that the couple left the bar at about 11:45 p.m. en route to Imbo's New Jersey home. They were last seen walking on South Street toward Petrone's parked vehicle, a 2001 Dodge pick-up truck.
Investigation
Imbo, Petrone, and their vehicle were not seen again after the night of February 19, 2005. Since their disappearance, there has been no activity on Imbo's or Petrone's cell phones or personal finances. Imbo had a 2-year-old son and Petrone had a teenage daughter.
Media accounts state that both had close relationships with their children and families and were unlikely to have voluntarily disappeared.
Since 2008, the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
has been investigating the disappearance as a possible
murder for hire
Contract killing is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or persons. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of payment, monetary or otherwise. Either party may b ...
, but has not named any suspects.
In 2021, the disappearance continued to be investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department, New Jersey State Police, Mount Laurel Police Department, and the Burlington County Prosecutor's Office, with the FBI reporting that "an extensive investigation to date has generated some promising leads; however, neither they nor the vehicle have ever been located."
On March 22, 2022, a private search and recovery
dive team
A diving team is a group of people who work together to conduct a diving operation. A characteristic of professional diving is the specification for minimum personnel for the diving support team. This typically specifies the minimum number of s ...
,
Adventures with Purpose
Adventures with Purpose is a group of scuba divers who use sonar to locate missing persons and their vehicles in waterbodies. Originally focused on clean-up, they turned their focus to missing persons cold cases. The group documents their effor ...
, announced they were actively working on the case.
Media depictions
Their case has been featured on several podcasts, including:
* ''
The Vanished'', 2016
* ''Obsessed With Disappeared'' in August 2022 in an episode titled "A Bridge Too Far: The Disappearance of Danielle Imbo & Richard Petrone".
* ''
Crime Junkie
''Crime Junkie'' is a true crime podcast hosted by Ashley Flowers and Brit Prawat, based in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Production and format
In a Q&A with ''Inside Radio'', Flowers said that she and Prawat, her co-host, have been friends since birth ...
'' on May 11, 2020
* ''Women & Crime'' in December 2021
* ''The Trail Went Cold'' on June 5, 2024.
* ''There and Gone: South Street'', 2024
Their case was episode 11 of season 8 of the TV show ''Disappeared'' with the episode named "A Bridge Too Far".
See also
*
List of people who disappeared
Lists of people who disappeared include those whose current whereabouts are unknown, or whose deaths are unsubstantiated. Many people who disappear are eventually declared dead ''in absentia''. Some of these people were possibly subjected to enf ...
Notes
External links
“NamUs, MP 806”Namus page for Danielle Imbo
“NamUs, MP 3968”Namus page for Richard Petrone, Jr.
“Danielle Imbo”Danielle Imbo's missing person page.
”Richard Petrone Jr.”Richard Petrone's missing person's page.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imbo, Danielle and Petrone Jr., Richard
2000s missing person cases
Couples
Missing person cases in Pennsylvania
Unexplained disappearances