Deep Dive
Shownotes Transcript
Hi, I'm Andrea Gunning, host of There and Gone South Street, and I'm excited to share episode one with you. But I'm even more excited to tell you that you can listen to this and all new episodes completely ad free and one week early with an I Heart True Crime Plus subscription available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. So head to Apple Podcasts, search for I Heart True Crime Plus and subscribe today.
Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, the host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
I'm John Walczak, host of the new podcast Missing in Arizona. And I'm Robert Fisher, one of the most wanted men in the world. We cloned his voice using AI.
In 2001, police say I killed my family and rigged my house to explode before escaping into the wilderness. Police believe he is alive and hiding somewhere. Join me. I'm going down in the cave. As I track down clues. I'm going to call the police and have you removed. Hunting. One of the most dangerous fugitives in the world. Robert Fisher. Do you recognize my voice? Listen to Missing in Arizona every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. Throughout this entire time, Danielle's been missing.
trying to find her literally consumed me. Some psychic called my mother-in-law and said Danielle was dying in a boxcar. So in the middle of the night, I went down to Philadelphia and searched the train tracks under the bridge with a flashlight. Here I am scaling this fence at midnight with a flashlight looking in boxcars. I got in trouble for that one.
The Mount Laurel police detective called me up screaming, telling me that they had to stop all of commerce in Pennsylvania to get me out of the railroad because I was looking in railroad cars. I just can't stop. It just consumed me. That's John Ottobre. His sister Danielle went missing in February of 2005. But she wasn't alone. Danielle and her friend Richard left a bar and simply vanished. Nineteen years later,
They still have yet to be found. She was my sister. She was my friend. She was my blood. I would do anything for her throughout all these years. Speaking with the FBI, I know my sister died that night. But to this day, I still don't know. I can't stop my mind from wandering to the darker things. Was she alone? Was she scared? Was she calling out for someone? I don't know.
For all I know, they have all this information, the FBI. So what does the FBI say? We have several working theories. We've done a number of searches in different areas. We have a lot of folks that we've talked to. We have statements, phone records. I probably have the silver bullet and all of that stuff. I need somebody to tie it together. This needs to get solved.
I'm Andrea Gunning, and this is There and Gone, South Street, Episode 1, Ghosts. All that I know is I see you in my dreams. Reach out in the dark, for you've been lost to me. I'll never give up, no matter how I open my eyes, to find that you're gone.
A note that the views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals participating. This podcast contains subject matter which may not be suitable for everyone. Discretion is advised. For 15 years, Danielle and Richard were strangers to me, ghosts that loomed over I-95 South. It's the stretch of highway that connects Philadelphia to New York City. Each side is lined with billboards. Most are ads for ambulance chasers or beer.
But one shows two smiling faces next to the word "missing." It's Danielle Imbo and Richard Patron. And it's been there for almost 20 years. Imbo and Patron were last seen leaving a South Street bar in the late evening of February 19, 2005. I knew their faces. I knew their names. Investigators have turned up a few promising leads but have not found the couple or the car.
South Street is one of the busiest and most popular places for nightlife in Philadelphia. At least it was in 2005. Think Bourbon Street, but without the balconies and beats. It's not exactly the same, but you get the idea. No shortage of places to grab a drink and have a good time. It's not a place where two people just vanish. And it's certainly a spot where you'd have plenty of eyewitnesses. They had left a bar at 4th and South, headed to his pickup truck, and simply vanished. Not a trace.
The story of Richard Patron and Danielle Imbo became an anecdote, a Philadelphia urban legend.
If my team was ever going to produce a missing persons podcast, this was the one. And as I'll explain in a bit, it turns out we are way more connected to the story than I originally thought. When I begin working on a story, I usually reach out to law enforcement. From the initial research, it was clear the FBI was involved. So I decided to start there. This case was different because it was two people. They were adults.
That were just out having fun, and now they disappear with no information about where they could be. That's Jerry Williams. She was an FBI agent and the spokesperson for the Philadelphia Bureau when Danielle and Richard went missing. I don't think anybody had heard of a case like this ever before.
Vito would come into my office and keep me updated. Vito. Special Agent Vito Rosselli. He has been working on this case since the very beginning. I could tell that it was more than just another investigation for him. Agent Rosselli had spent almost two decades tracking down every lead in this case, but came up short.
There are so many times over the past few years that I thought Vito was close in solving this. And then, nothing. I needed to talk to Vito. Hey, Andrea. I really appreciate your effort on this. Huge help. Special Agent Vito Rosselli looks and sounds like someone in a TV show who's playing an FBI agent. He's a stocky guy, muscular, with dark skin, and seems like someone you'd want to grab a beer with.
My dad was an old Hoover guy. He was an old FBI agent. So I grew up around that. I got in Philly in February of '97, and I've been in Philly pretty much my whole career. Vito is a warm and welcoming guy. But I could tell that he carries pieces of this investigation around with him, and that clearly rests heavily on his heart. I don't know how else to explain it, but there's a heaviness to that. It wasn't just an accident and driving off a bridge.
A truck and two people just don't disappear. What I do know is that the people who are involved had to have the means to get rid of two bodies and a truck in a very quick amount of time. That means that they did it before or they had access to those circles. So I don't have the truck and I don't have the bodies.
Just think about that. Not only are Danielle and Richard missing, but so is the Dodge Dakota pickup truck they were driving. And after 19 years of searching, Vito still has no physical evidence to work with. He's been trying to figure out who wanted to kill either Danielle and Richard without a fingerprint, a tire mark, or a single drop of blood.
But maybe what's stranger than any of that is the why. Because on paper, neither of these two seem to have a target on their back. What I did uncover is that both were good people. A lot of people cared for him. Danielle was very close to him. Her mom and her brother and Rich were very close to both his parents and all his siblings and had a child that he was raising. Both families are still extremely distraught. It's very emotional for him.
As emotional today as it was when I first met them. Vito has a lot riding on this investigation. Obviously, he felt for Danielle and Richard's families. It's been on his plate since 2005. And all investigators will tell you they always feel like they're racing against time. But Vito had a different clock. You see, in the FBI, there's a mandatory retirement age of 57. And Vito's 57th birthday...
was fast approaching. Every investigator, every detective has that white whale that hangs over their head. And in this particular case where you don't get an answer, that just crushes people's souls and it's tough. So the case is very much open and hopefully we make an arrest. I've met with Vito a few times now. After those conversations, it's become clear what Vito is missing: testimony.
Someone who heard something or saw something or remembers anything. Anything about what happened on the night of February 19th, 2005. He just needs someone to come forward. Everybody that's working on this case, everybody that has worked on this case, wants this to get out in the public and wants people to call in. And that's why I'm very thankful for you guys.
This case was a big deal in Philadelphia. And to be fair, it did get national attention. But that interest lasted for like two months. Because in May of 2005, an American teenager went missing in Aruba, Natalie Holloway, and the nation turned their attention to her. Slowly, Danielle and Richard faded from public consciousness. But Philadelphia hasn't forgotten. For a big metropolitan city, there is a small-town feel here.
and it's that close-knit community that keeps their memory alive. See, everybody knows everybody here, or at least knows someone who knows your sister or your cousin or used to work with that guy that you used to work with. All of that is relevant here. The city, its people, it's all important to this story. Philadelphia is the city of brotherly love, and often, love extends to loyalty, vows of silence when it comes to nefarious behavior.
The FBI undoubtedly believes that there are people who know what happened to Richard and Danielle, but have remained silent. So why now? I once heard this theory from law enforcement that when it comes to these types of cases, there are usually three windows of time to solve them. The first few weeks, the first year, and then the next best is the 20th anniversary.
I've gotten confessions from folks because it was chewing them up on the inside. Not all folks that do illegal activity are evil folks. A lot of them have consciences and kids and families of their own, and eventually it wears on them. By the time this podcast launches, we'll approach the opening of that final window. Maybe after two decades, perhaps someone's own mortality will change their view and come forward with information.
He was so likable. He just had such a huge heart.
Jimmy Hartman grew up across the street from Richard, and the two immediately became fast friends. We liked to play hockey. We would get the guys together, and we became friends from there. And I knew Danielle also because I graduated high school with her. Like I said, everybody knows everybody. She was always nice. I just never got to know her that well, but I knew her, and she knew me.
So Jimmy not only knew Danielle and Richard, but was even close with Richard's parents, Richard Sr. and Marge Patron. You couldn't go to the house without eating. Just so typical Italian family. And there's just pasta and food and bread and wine and everything everywhere. Jimmy said it's been tough to watch the Patron suffer all these years. You could see the pain, especially in Marge's eyes. You could just see how much it hurts her, you know, and...
When you have somebody taken from you like this, it's just really hard to say goodbye. At first, he said the Patrons were dreading that phone call from police, the call that would confirm that Richard was dead. But now any information would be welcomed information. I would hate for either one of them to leave the earth without having closure. I mean, they have not let up on trying to get this mystery solved.
Since Jimmy knew the Patrons from childhood, he made an introduction. So we started there.
Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Stories about regaining a sense of safety, a handle on reality after your entire world is flipped upside down.
From unbelievable romantic betrayals... The love that was so real for me was always just a game for him. To betrayals in your own family... When I think about my dad, oh, well, he is a sociopath. Financial betrayal...
This is not even the part where he steals millions of dollars. And life or death deceptions. She's practicing how she's going to cry when the police calls her after they kill me. Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm John Walzak, host of the new podcast Missing in Arizona. And I'm Robert Fisher, one of the most wanted men in the world. We cloned his voice using AI. Come on, mom.
In 2001, police say I killed my family. First mom, then the kids. And rigged my house to explode. In a quiet suburb. This is the Beverly Hills of the Valley. Before escaping into the wilderness. There was sleet and hail and snow coming down. They found my wife's SUV. Right on the reservation boundary. And my dog flew. All I could think of is him and the sniper me out of some tree.
But not me. Police believe he is alive and hiding somewhere. For two years. They won't tell you anything. I've traveled the nation. I'm going down in the cave. Tracking down clues. They were thinking that I picked him up and took him somewhere. If you keep asking me this, I'm going to call the police and have you removed. Searching for Robert Fisher. One of the most dangerous fugitives in the world.
Do you recognize my voice? Join an exploding house, the hunt, family annihilation today, and a disappearing act. Listen to Missing in Arizona every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.
Hey guys, I'm Andrea Gunning, host of There and Gone South Street. In this series, we follow the case of Richard Patron and Danielle Limbaugh, two people who went missing in Philadelphia nearly two decades ago and have never been found. Unlike most cases, there is not a single piece of physical evidence connected to this crime, but the FBI knows there was foul play.
I'm also excited to tell you that you can now get access to all episodes of There and Gone South Street 100% ad-free with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Plus, you'll get access to other chart-topping true crime shows you love, like Betrayal, Creating a Con, The Story of BitCon, Paper Ghosts, Piked in Massacre, Murder,
Murder homes, unrestorable, the godmother, the girlfriends, and more. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts, search for iHeartTrue Crime Plus, and subscribe today. Marge Patron greeted me and my colleague Ben at her front door. It was a bright Sunday afternoon, nearly 19 years after her son Richard and his friend Danielle Imbo vanished.
We needed to learn who Richard and Danielle were and understand everything they left behind on February 19th, 2005. We had been told that both families were done speaking to the press. Think about it. The closest people to Richard and Danielle had to answer the same questions about their disappearance for over 19 years now. Yet here I was with my partner Ben, standing at the threshold of the Patron's family home to again pick at that scab.
It took an introduction from Richard's childhood friend, many conversations, and Vito expressing the importance of participating. Ultimately, the Patrons agreed. You want to sit somewhere comfortable? And much to my surprise and relief, Marge welcomed us with a warm, friendly smile. And just like I was told, she immediately wanted to feed us. You want something to eat? You want a piece of cake or something?
Marge is a grandmother as well as a mother of three. So hosting us seemed like old hat for Marge. Like we'd been over for dinner many times before. Even though this was a first for all of us. And that day, Marge invited us for Sunday dinner. And no, this isn't just a meal that happens to fall on Sunday. It's actually a long-running tradition for the Patrons. That's when their family comes together for a big Italian meal. So we felt honored to be invited.
It was just before Christmas and every inch of her house was decorated, including the kitchen. That's where we all gathered around a charcuterie board filled with sliced deli meats and cheeses while a huge pot of red gravy bubbled on the stove behind us. Marge's freezer door was lined with several baby pictures and a ton of magnets. She pointed to the Chicago Bears magnet and said it was Richard's favorite football team. And then there was this. I have a Susan Lucci doll.
You might remember Susan Lucci from the long-running daytime TV show, All My Children. You know, it's funny because I love soap operas and all that. Marge explained that she always watched All My Children and how one year for Christmas, Richard surprised her with this Susan Lucci doll. For a guy, he was the best gift giver and just very thoughtful and did it all himself. Like, he didn't just go to the mall and buy anything. He knew what you were into.
I could tell Richard is Marge's firstborn. She lights up at every mention of his name, like how he played hockey from the time he was seven until the day he went missing, and how she still holds on to Richard's Bobby Clark jersey. That's when her voice trailed off. And as the firstborn, you could say Richard got special treatment.
When Richard had a sore throat, I would run him to the doctors and Christine always would say, if I said I had a sore throat, you'd say, spray your throat. You're all right. Christine and Elisa are Marta's daughters. Christine was also best friends with Danielle Limbaugh. She was supposed to join us for dinner, but Christine backed out at the last minute. Her sister Elisa gave us a clue as to why. I think this whole thing was really hard for Christine because it's her best friend and her brother.
Richard and Christine were only a year difference and she doesn't really say anything too much about that night. Alisa is well into her 30s now, but was just a teenager when her brother Richard disappeared. We have no idea what happened to them or how this happened and we just live with that and it's an awful feeling. There was a row of stockings in the living room that hung across their mantle just above the fireplace.
I couldn't help but wonder if Richard's stocking was one of them. We all moved to the kitchen table as Marge arrived with a giant bowl of stuffed manicotti and homemade meatballs. It was enough to feed a small army. "Everything to me is happy and sad." Marge pointed to where Richard sat for 35 years, and then to the empty chair where her husband used to sit.
For 40 years, Marge and her husband, Richard Sr., owned and operated a Swedish bakery called Viking Pastries in the suburbs of Philly.
That's where Richard and his father worked side by side. The two were very close. Richard Sr. suffered multiple strokes and hasn't been home for a while now. "He's just never been here since Richard disappeared. Let's face it, he's never been the same." "No, no, no." "No, never. He's the shell of the person he used to be." "He is not at all who he was." You know, I don't want to say that life hasn't gone on for the Patron since Richard disappeared because it has.
But I got the feeling that Marge in particular has been sort of treading water ever since that day. The void Richard left was on full display that Sunday. I had to keep going, which I still am doing, even though it's like yesterday for me. Back on February 20th, 2005, Richard didn't make it home for Sunday dinner. I remember Christine calling me. She said, Mom, Richard's missing.
Marge said she was out running errands with her husband that afternoon. And she was certain Richard was home. It was the day of the Daytona 500, and Richard had been looking forward to it all week. Christine called Marge from the salon where she worked. She was concerned about Danielle.
Yeah, the same Danielle who was with Richard the night before. And she said, Danielle didn't show up for an appointment today and she never does that and he's not home. He's missing. Marge and her son Richard were close. They usually talked multiple times a day. But that Sunday, she hadn't heard from him. And so I called his phone a million times and it just went right to voicemail. He would never not answer his phone to me. Never. One thing to keep in mind...
Back in early 2005, most of us had flip phones and texting wasn't common yet. So when our phones rang, we'd actually answer them. The fact that Richard wasn't answering his phone immediately concerned Marge. Christine said the same thing with Danielle. It's just going right to voicemail. Now I call my sister and I said to her, you've got to go in his apartment. Marge's sister lived down the street from Richard. So she had a spare key and headed over to the apartment.
She didn't see Richard's truck parked out front, so she unlocked the door and went inside. "She said, 'No, nobody came back here.' And the dog's barking." Richard's dog Bismarck was in distress and needed to go out. His food bowl was empty and it was clear Richard had not been home for hours. From everything I've learned today, Richard was a reliable guy, not one to be out of touch. Leaving his family in the dark like this, it was out of character.
He would never go anywhere without telling me. I knew immediately. Immediately. And I said, "Oh my God, this could not be happening, but I lost my son today. My God." Christine said, "We're never going to see them again, are we, Mom?" I said, "No, we're not. No, we're not." Christine and Marge feared the worst, but Richard's father wasn't about to jump to conclusions. Richard Sr. was a strong Italian father. He's as much brawn as he is brains.
And what his wife was telling him, it wasn't registering. He said, what are you saying? I'm saying that something terrible happened to your son. While the fear was hitting the Patron family, John Ottobre, Danielle's brother, was also realizing Danielle didn't make it home that night. I woke up Sunday morning early and I took a ride to her house to fix the curtain. I saw her car out front. I knock on the door. She's not answering my car cell phone. It goes right to voicemail.
At the time, John had been trying to support Danielle as much as possible. See, in the last 12 months, Danielle's life had gotten complicated.
Danielle had recently separated from her husband, Joe Embo. To make matters more challenging, Danielle and Joe welcomed their son together just two years prior. In February of 2005, Danielle was in uncharted waters. She was a single parent navigating custody of their 20-month-old child and deep in the throes of dissolving her marriage with Joe. Anything John could do to help his sister, he would, whether it be helping out around the condo or looking after the baby.
It was a typical ugly separation. You know, it was headed towards divorce. So I didn't think anything of it. I hung the curtains up and I left. It was obvious no one was home. So John packed up his tools and went about his day like he would any other. That was until... I got a phone call around 3 o'clock. It was my mother. And she said, Danielle never came home last night. I'm at her condo now. I need you to come here. And my mother is in full-blown panic.
She said, "Joe's getting ready to drop the baby off in the next hour, and she's not here, and no one can get in touch with either one of them." I knew right there something was wrong. I just knew it. The divorce was nasty. Danielle's mom knew how bad it would look for her daughter if Joe dropped off her son, only to find out Danielle never came home that night and was currently MIA. You see, over the past few months, Danielle had been dating Richard Patron, and Joe knew that.
She didn't want to give her soon-to-be ex-son-in-law any ammunition. My mother said, don't tell him what's going on. I don't want him to know because I don't want him to say, well, I'll keep the baby until she comes home. I said, mom, don't worry about it. It was three o'clock that afternoon when Joe arrived to drop off their son. That was the agreed-upon time for Joe to end his weekend with the baby. And he kind of walked in, he looked confused, and he said, where's Danielle?
And my mother said, "Oh, she went to dinner with Christine." And then he said something like he mumbled under his breath. I guess telling a lie is better than telling the truth. Then he left. Like saying what we were saying was bullshit.
Hi, it's Andrea Gunning, host of Betrayal. I'm excited to announce that the Betrayal podcast is expanding. We are going to be releasing episodes weekly, every Thursday. Each week, you'll hear brand new stories, firsthand accounts of shocking deception, broken trust, and the trail of destruction left behind. Stories about regaining a sense of safety, a handle on reality after your entire world is flipped upside down.
From unbelievable romantic betrayals. The love that was so real for me was always just a game for him. To betrayals in your own family. When I think about my dad, oh, well, he is a sociopath. Financial betrayal. This is not even the part where he steals millions of dollars. And life or death deceptions. She's practicing how she's going to cry when the police calls her after they kill me.
Listen to Betrayal Weekly on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm John Walzak, host of the new podcast Missing in Arizona. And I'm Robert Fisher, one of the most wanted men in the world. We cloned his voice using AI. I'm John Walzak.
In 2001, police say I killed my family. First mom, then the kids. And rigged my house to explode. In a quiet suburb. This is the Beverly Hills of the Valley. Before escaping into the wilderness. There was sleet and hail and snow coming down. They found my wife's SUV. Right on the reservation boundary. And my dog flew. All I could think of is him and the sniper me out of some tree.
But not me. Police believe he is alive and hiding somewhere. For two years. They won't tell you anything. I've traveled the nation. I'm going down in the cave. Tracking down clues. They were thinking that I picked him up and took him somewhere. If you keep asking me this, I'm going to call the police and have you removed. Searching for Robert Fisher. One of the most dangerous fugitives in the world.
Do you recognize my voice? Join an exploding house, the hunt, family annihilation today, and a disappearing act. Listen to Missing in Arizona every Wednesday on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows.
Hey guys, I'm Andrea Gunning, host of There and Gone South Street. In this series, we follow the case of Richard Patron and Danielle Limbaugh, two people who went missing in Philadelphia nearly two decades ago and have never been found. Unlike most cases, there is not a single piece of physical evidence connected to this crime, but the FBI knows there was foul play.
I'm also excited to tell you that you can now get access to all episodes of There and Gone South Street 100% ad-free with an iHeart True Crime Plus subscription available exclusively on Apple Podcasts. Plus, you'll get access to other chart-topping true crime shows you love, like Betrayal, Creating a Con, The Story of BitCon, Paper Ghosts, Piked in Massacre, and more.
It was always our intention to start our own investigation, but we had to ask ourselves, where do you start on a case when two people go missing? We started by retracing their last steps.
We wanted to understand exactly where Richard Patron and Danielle Imbo were the night of February 19th, 2005. We're all out together that night.
Went to Chickie and Pete's. Marge and her two daughters, Christine and Elisa, had dinner with Danielle Imbo and Danielle's mother at Chickie and Pete's, which is a popular Philadelphia restaurant. Think chicken sandwiches, cheesesteaks, crab fries, and beer. It's a sports bar with games on TVs everywhere. A good place to blow off steam after a long week. Here's Elisa, Richard's sister.
Toward the end of dinner, Richard called Danielle to see if she wanted to join him for the evening. Initially, Danielle wasn't sure, but eventually agreed. She was open to making the most of her child-free Saturday night. Christine agreed to drop her off since Danielle's car was back at her condo in Jersey.
That was really like a spur of the moment thing. I don't think he even knew that she was going to actually go with him. And that's an important detail from Marge and something to remember. This was a spontaneous meetup between Danielle and Richard. Richard was at another taproom having dinner and told Christine to drop her off. She would go with Richard that night. As for Danielle, her brother John got the story of what happened from his mother. She said, well, last night,
Danielle and I and Marge and Christine went to Chickie and Pete's. And Richard called and said, hey, I'm at this bar, Abilene's, on South Street. Why don't you come? Danielle said, she'll meet you as long as you can get her home at a reasonable time. Danielle had an appointment at a salon the next morning. It was the same salon that Christine Patron worked at. So it's our understanding that from Chickie and Pete's, Christine drives Danielle to meet up with Richard. And Richard and Danielle drive to Abilene's on South Street together.
South Street had this huge strip of bars. Abilene's one of them. Journalist Steve Vo covered the story for Philadelphia Magazine and explains what happened next. I remember that they were having a good time, that they were enjoying themselves. They sat close together. They shared a kiss at some point. They were laughing a lot. You know, they had a nice evening together. We heard Danielle and Richard spent a couple hours at the bar that Saturday night listening to a band. They leave before midnight.
He was going to drive her back to her home in Mount Laurel. And that's where the trail ends. No one has seen Danielle or Richard since. Not just them, but a truck disappeared into the ether from one of the most frequented spots in the whole city. It was stunning. I just wish that the families could have an answer.
and whatever the answer was, to sort through it and deal with it. I'm a father, I'm a brother, I'm a husband, I'm a son. It's very hard not to see the human side, the human impact on the two families. It keeps me motivated. For Vito Roselli, he lives with the impact of that reality every day. And one of the major factors that has stopped him from solving this case is the evidence, or lack thereof.
This happened in 2005, when even basic equipment like security cameras were using outdated technology. Back then everybody was still on VCRs that they were taping over after two weeks or 30 days. Streetlight cameras, none of that existed back then. You know, the iPhones weren't a thing. So it was a little different animal. Today we can track our friends. Everyone essentially has a GPS in their pocket.
Plus, there's no shortage of documenting with people recording their life for the whole world to see. But in 2005, people had flip phones and Myspace. Even YouTube didn't come out until February of 2005. We have a lot more tools available to us now than we did back then. Today, when something happens...
You know, there's cell phone video and there's video on buildings and people are going on social media and talking about it. We didn't have any of that back then. That's former FBI agent Jerry Williams. In my years of doing media relations for the FBI, I've never heard of a case like this.
The community was concerned, and law enforcement didn't have much to work with. After those initial days of the investigation, the FBI got tapped in, and the lack of evidence actually started to tell a story to Vito. Nobody checks into a hospital. Neither one of them would have left their children.
They wouldn't just have run away. The idea of Richard and Danielle getting hurt or skipping town got rolled out pretty quickly. There was no activity on their credit cards or on their phones. The people who did it made two people in a truck disappear. That's a clean crime. And it could have been clean by accident, it could have been clean by luck, or it could have been clean by design. So it was clear that something bad happened pretty much off the start. Vito and Jerry were adamant about one thing —
After 19 years of dead ends, they were out of options. When you have a case like this, you have to figure out how to keep it in the news. Each year at the anniversary, we put something out. And without fail, we always get tips, call-ins. And more over the past few years, I've been pretty consistent. So it's good. It keeps it out in the public's eye.
Today marks 10 years since a local couple vanished without a trace and despite a decade since their disappearance, today their relatives made an emotional plea for new information.
Every February 20th, without fail, the city of Philadelphia is reminded of Danielle and Richard. It has been 11 years to the day since Danielle Imbo. Believe it or not, today marks 12 years since Danielle Imbo and Richard Patron Jr. first went missing. They have not been seen in 13 years despite an ongoing investigation. And for 19 years now, these segments go out. Tips come in, rinse and repeat. But the FBI says they have not given up on this case.
Having lived here my whole life, I've watched this segment each February with the rest of Philadelphia. Now I have more of a context as to why. Just like that billboard I mentioned in the beginning, it's a lifeline thrown out for Richard and Danielle and their families. Anything to keep hope for justice alive. I think putting it out there to the public on a true crime podcast is a brilliant step forward.
to add to what has been done so far. It's crazy for me to say this, but I think the FBI needs our help and your help. So do Danielle and Richard. The two left a crowded bar in a popular area of Philadelphia on a Saturday night two decades ago. And in those 20 years, we still don't know who wanted to harm them and why. One of the important directions that law enforcement had to take
was to determine the history between Danielle and Richard. When you look deep into anybody's background, you've got to be digging up stuff. And we found some angles that were of interest to us. That's when it started to look like this may have been a very personal crime. That's next time on There and Gone. All that they know.
is i see you in my dreams reach out in the dark for you to me i'll never give up no matter how each corner right there's another puzzle piece we follow the clue looking for i'll never give up no matter how long to find that you're
If you have any information about the disappearance of Danielle Imbo and Richard Patron, please call the Citizens Crime Commission tip line at 215-546-8477. Or you can reach out to the show and our team by email at thereandgonepod at gmail.com. That's thereandgonepod at gmail.com.
Thank you so much for listening. One way for you to show support is by subscribing to our show on Apple Podcasts. Don't forget to rate and review because five-star reviews go a long way. A big thank you to all of our listeners.
There and Gone is a production of Glass Podcasts, a division of Glass Entertainment Group in partnership with iHeart Podcasts. The show is executive produced by Nancy Glass, Ben Fetterman, and me, Andrea Gunning. It's hosted and written by me, Andrea Gunning, with additional reporting and writing by Ben Fetterman. The series is also written and produced by Todd Gans. Our associate producer is Kristen Melchiorri.
Special thanks to both the Patron and Entore families.
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