PA PA - Richard Petrone, 35, & Danielle Imbo, 34, Philadelphia, 19 Feb 2005 - #3

[rob525]

It is difficult to accidentally drive into a river, in Philadelphia, and not leave a trace on the bank, e.g. broken guardrails or fences, tire tracks.

Outside of the city, it would be possible.

Agree, outside of the city would be more likely. However, how long would those traces remain? If it takes days or weeks for folks to start looking at roadways and potential spots, the traces may have been gone or ignored. I wonder what the weather was like in the days immediately after they were last seen? A moderate to heavy snowfall could have covered many signs of an accident.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Agree, outside of the city would be more likely. However, how long would those traces remain? If it takes days or weeks for folks to start looking at roadways and potential spots, the traces may have been gone or ignored. I wonder what the weather was like in the days immediately after they were last seen? A moderate to heavy snowfall could have covered many signs of an accident.

Most of the places in the city are fairly public and have fencing or barriers. Damage to those would be seen.

I am not sure, but there may have been snow cover as well. Tracks could be seen, in that case,

 

[J. J. in Phila]

I double checked; there probably was no snow cover.

 

[rob525]

I double checked; there probably was no snow cover.

Historical weather that i see says light snow in the days that followed with heavy snow on the 28th. So, depending upon when folks got out and started checking potential locations.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Historical weather that i see says light snow in the days that followed with heavy snow on the 28th. So, depending upon when folks got out and started checking potential locations.

There was some precipitation on the the night of 2/20-21, but temperature was in the low 40's that day, so it would have melted.

The 2/28 shows about 0.15 inches. If it was all snow, it would 2.5" inches max. However, some of it fell just at the freezing mark, so it could have not collected on the ground. The next day, it was above freezing.

It is not a question of when people started looking. Passers by will see a guardrail or fence broken, or parts of the car still laying there next to the river.

I think there is only one spot where a truck could go into the river without hitting a barrier.

 

[geojeffrey]

Most of the places in the city are fairly public and have fencing or barriers. Damage to those would be seen.

I am not sure, but there may have been snow cover as well. Tracks could be seen, in that case,

The weather was cold and very windy that night--some light snow and ice was around the night this happened, but only in shaded/protected areas. There was no new snowfall that night or the following day. It was a very unpleasant night to be out and about....

 

[renaebri]

That night the people Richard and Danielle were with were “under the impression” they would be going directly to Danielle’s home over in New Jersey. There is only one reasonable route they would have taken and that was through downtown Philly then across the Ben Franklin Bridge. CCTV on the bridge did not record Richard’s Truck crossing the bridge. It would seem highly improbable that two people could be abducted from a downtown street shortly before midnight without someone noticing something. Not impossible but highly unlikely. The Occam’s Razor explanation is that they decided to go somewhere else instead.

If that is what happened, they couldn’t have been victims of a planned abduction because no one would have known where they were. By a process of elimination, it would seem they experienced a driving mishap and probably ended up in a body of water. Driving after drinking on ice slick roads is an accident waiting to happen. The real problem now is to determine where they might have gone and what bodies of water to search. Was there a Club they liked or an entertainment district young people might go to at the time. An out of town Casino or a favorite diner for a late snack? Maybe just a long drive to have some time to talk alone? Locals would have a better idea where they might have gone; what bodies of water to check. Could Richard have deliberately driven into water as a murder-suicide? Possible but not a conclusion I would jump to.

Agreed with all of that! Do you think them crossing at the two more northern bridges- the Betsy Ross bridge or the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, would be unreasonable though? Were there cameras on those? It would fit with a longer drive if they wanted that, and it still would be on the way to her condo.

 

[J. J. in Phila]

Agreed with all of that! Do you think them crossing at the two more northern bridges- the Betsy Ross bridge or the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, would be unreasonable though? Were there cameras on those? It would fit with a longer drive if they wanted that, and it still would be on the way to her condo.

None of bridges had cameras covering the eastbound lanes.

There is a boat launch south of the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge, but I would doubt that it would not be a wrong turn situation.