What happened to Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo? 20 years later, it remains a mystery
Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone are two names at the heart of a 20-year-old distressing mystery. The missing couple was last seen on South Street on the night of Feb. 19, 2005. Since then, the family has been holding onto hope.
Two decades later, loved ones are still hopeful there can be a break in the case to solve one of the city's most high-profile mysteries.
"He was everything to us"
In a South Philly rowhome not far from the stadiums, a gracious woman named Marge Petrone has a moment, reeling from the 20 minutes we sat and talked about Richard, her son.
"Oh God. Oh, I wish you would have known him," Marge Petrone said. "He was the greatest kid in the world."
Marge Petrone has never stopped thinking the world of her only son. Richard Petrone would be 55.
"I think of him every day," she said. "He was everything to us."
What happened to Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo?
Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo, his on-again, off-again girlfriend, went out on a Saturday night at the former Abilene's Bar on South Street.
"Danielle had plans, a lady's night," Vito Roselli said.
Roselli spent nearly his entire career at the FBI reconstructing that cold February night and what happened to Richard Petrone and Imbo. After Imbo's night out with girlfriends, she met Petrone and another couple at the bar around 9:30 p.m.
"They left around 11:30, 11:45," Roselli said. "That's Richard and Danielle. And that's the last they were seen, the last the truck was seen."
Investigators say Imbo, who was in the process of getting a divorce, had a 1-year-old son. Petrone, who had a teenage daughter, made his living working at the family's bakery in Ardmore.
"He loved his daughter, so that's why when this all started and they were saying they went away — no, they would never go away, leave the bakery, leave me, leave his daughter," Marge Petrone said.
Marge Petrone suspected foul play from the start.
"Yes, I knew. He was never coming back," she said. "We were never going to see him again."
Retired FBI agent: "There's no real evidence"
Was it murder for hire? Money owed to those in organized crime? Or someone sending a message?
The FBI, the lead agency on the case, explored those motives but says none could be proven.
"There's no truck recovered, no bodies recovered," Roselli said. "There's no real evidence," Roselli said.
In her heart, Marge Petrone thinks she knows what happened.
"Absolutely. Absolutely do. I don't think aliens came from the sky, took two people and a truck, and made them disappear," she said.
Because of the lack of evidence, investigators often turned to the public for help. Agents sifted through conspiracy theories and reached dead ends. Meanwhile, relatives struggled with what happened to Imbo and Petrone.
"You can't imagine, did he suffer, was he calling my name? Was he …," Marge Petrone said.
What's the latest on the investigation?
CBS News Philadelphia has been requesting an on-camera interview with the FBI about the ongoing investigation. However, a spokesperson has not responded to numerous calls and emails.
On Wednesday, the FBI said in a statement, "Our office remains unwavering in seeking justice for Danielle and Richard, their loved ones, and our city." The bureau added it's offering a $15,000 reward for info leading to an arrest and conviction in Petrone's and Imbo's disappearance.
Meanwhile, Imbo's brother, John Ottobre, declined to talk on camera but thanked investigators in a message and wrote: "It's been an incredibly difficult 20 years without answers about Danielle's disappearance. The pain of not knowing what happened to her has never lessened, and our family continues to hope for the truth."
In the past 20 years, this family never had a funeral for Richard Petrone. His absence has left a hole now filled with desperation for the truth.
"Just let us know something. Let us know something, please let us know what happened," Marge Petrone said. "After all this time, unburden yourself with this guilt and let us know what happened to my son and Danielle."
Any tips or information about the night of Feb. 19, 2005, and Richard Petrone and Danielle Imbo can be given to the FBI by calling 215-418-4000 or visit the FBI's tip line at https://tips.fbi.gov/home.
