Missing Since: 02/19/2005

Missing From: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Classification: Endangered Missing

Sex: Female

Race: White

Date of Birth: 01/01/1971 (51),

Age: 34 years old

Height and Weight: 5’5, 118 pounds

Jewelry/Clothing Description: Her outfit consisted of a cream-colored sweater, a dark-colored (possibly black) jacket, blue jeans, and three silver rings on one of her middle fingers. I’m carrying a two-handled black purse.

Associated Vehicle: Black and silver four-door 2001 Dodge Dakota or Dodge Ram pickup truck with the Pennsylvania license plate number YFH2319 and possibly a NASCAR #99 sticker in the rear window, Distinguishing Characteristics: Caucasian female. Dark brown hair, hazel eyes. Imbo has a flower tattoo on her lower back. Her two front teeth are separated by a small gap. Imbo frequently wears dark-colored Clinique lipstick but rarely wears any other makeup. Her toes and fingers are always painted. At the time she went missing, she smoked about one pack of Marlboro Lights cigarettes per day. Imbo usually dresses in designer clothes. Ottobre is her maiden name.

Details of Disappearance

Imbo and her boyfriend, Richard Petrone, were last seen on February 19, 2005, at Abilene’s (also spelled “Abeline’s” or “Abeline’s”), a bar and restaurant in the 400 block of South Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

They had drinks with friends before leaving between 11:30 and 11:45 p.m., claiming to be going to Imbo’s house in Mount Laurel, New Jersey. They’ve never been heard from again. Their friends reported that they both acted normally and seemed happy that evening.

Petrone’s car, a black and silver four-door 2001 Dodge Dakota or Dodge Ram pickup truck with the Pennsylvania licence plate number YFH2319 and possibly a NASCAR #99 sticker in the rear window, is also missing.

Since they went missing, neither Imbo nor Petrone have accessed their bank accounts or used their credit cards or EZ-Pass cards. Their cellphones have remained turned off. Imbo’s purse and wallet have yet to be found. She was supposed to go to a hair salon at 11:00 a.m. the day after she vanished, but she never showed up.

Petrone and Imbo each have one child, a toddler son for Imbo and a teenage daughter for Petrone. Their loved ones stated that they would never have voluntarily abandoned their families. The couple met in high school and started dating ten months before their disappearances, after they split up with their respective partners.

Authorities have questioned both people’s associates. Petrone and Imbo’s estranged husband allegedly exchanged phone threats, and Imbo had made numerous failed attempts to reconcile with her husband, who was involved with another woman.

Imbo told her husband and Petrone shortly before her disappearance that she needed “space” from both of them; she was reportedly considering ending her relationship with Petrone entirely. Their families believe foul play was involved in their disappearances, and both families have accused members of the other family of being responsible for their disappearances.

According to investigators, there is very little evidence to indicate what happened to Petrone and Imbo, but they have ruled out kidnapping and believe a random act of violence is also unlikely. Their disappearances are being investigated as a possible double homicide.

At the time of her disappearance, Imbo was working as a loan processor for a mortgage company out of her home. In 2005, she lived on Dunbarton Road in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, while Petrone lived in South Philadelphia. Authorities in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania are investigating  their disappearances, which remain unsolved.

Investigating Agency

• South Philadelphia Police Department 215-686-3013
• Mount Laurel Township Police Department 856-234-1414
• Philadelphia Police Department 215-686-3013
• Camden County Sheriff’s Office 856-225-5470