Danielle Imbo and Richard Petrone Jr. (2005)

Last known movements and search

Imbo, 34, of Mount Laurel, and Petrone, 35, of Philadelphia, left Abilene on South Street about 11:45 p.m. after telling friends they would return to Mount Laurel. The vehicle was Petrone’s black 2001 Dodge Dakota, Pennsylvania YFH-2319. The FBI describes it as black over silver and says it may have had a NASCAR sticker. There was no subsequent cellphone, credit-card, or ATM activity. Street and ATM cameras did not show them, and bridge cameras did not record the truck entering New Jersey.

Philadelphia Sergeant Tim Cooney said six city officers worked full-time on the case. Searches covered Philadelphia streets and airport lots, Pine Barrens back roads, Tinicum Township wetlands, the Jersey Shore, Delaware, and New York; national alerts and television coverage generated tips but no confirmed lead. The early report put the combined reward at roughly $50,000; that historical amount should not be confused with the later FBI offer.

Family participants included Petrone’s father Richard Sr., mother Marge, and 14-year-old daughter Angela; Imbo’s mother Felice Ottobre; and estranged husband Joe Imbo, who cared for their 20-month-old son Joseph Imbo III. Relatives said both had strong family ties and rejected voluntary disappearance.

Twenty years of investigation

The FBI’s February 20, 2025 account adds a second phase to the initial search: an expanded interagency effort assembled in 2015 and subsequently conducted nearly 300 formal interviews. Investigators examined telephone, toll and financial records and checked tips from far beyond New Jersey. The account also records an early warning sign: Imbo missed a hair appointment the next day. FBI, “A Secret in South Philly”.

The FBI’s February 19, 2025 appeal states that neither person nor the pickup had been located. Its reward was up to $15,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction. The official missing-person page supplies identifying information and a tip link; it was reviewed September 7, 2026.

What the Pine Barrens connection means

The original clipping places Pine Barrens roads within the search area. It does not establish that the couple reached the forest or that anything happened there. Their confirmed last movements belong to Philadelphia. The missing truck remains a central unanswered part of the case.