Pleading and praying

They filed out of Monday night’s Mass at St. Rita of Cascia Church one by one.

Relatives of Richard Petrone Jr., for whom the service was dedicated, gathered in the vestibule and talked quietly. Some friends of the 35-year-old, from the 1600 block of Snyder Avenue, and girlfriend Danielle Imbo, 34, from Mount Laurel, N.J., hugged each other for comfort.

The day after friends offered silent prayers for hope, the missing couple’s families issued public pleas for information at a joint press conference.

The Imbo and Petrone families- both from Cherry Hill, N.J.- gathered at the Police Administration Building in Philadelphia with their attorney, Craig Mitnick, to ask for help in locating Richard and Danielle. The couple was last seen leaving Abilene, a bar at 429 South St., around 11:30 p.m. Feb. 19. They were traveling in Petrone’s black and silver Dodge pickup with Pennsylvania license plate YFH 2319.

Mitnick, whose practice is in Haddonfield, N.J., opened the press conference by vouching for the couple’s reputation. Richard and Danielle had met another couple for drinks and neither was intoxicated, Mitnick said. He added that neither has a criminal background.

"Good, decent, honest people don’t just vanish off the face of the earth-nor do big, black Dodge pickup trucks," Mitnick said.

Richard Petrone Sr. announced that the $12,200 Citizens Crime Commission reward for information leading to the couple has grown to $50,000.

A trembling, tearful Marge Petrone clutched her husband’s arm while their daughters, Alisa and Christine, put their arms around their sobbing niece- Richard Jr.’s daughter, Angie, 14. Next to the Petrones stood Danielle Imbo’s brother, John Ottobre Jr.; his wife, Jodie; Danielle’s mother, Felice Ottobre; and Danielle’s husband, Joe Imbo, from whom she was separated.

"We’re here today to ask the people of the Delaware Valley to help find our children. Since that night, our families’ pain has been unbearable," Richard Petrone Sr. told reporters.

"All of our lives have been taken from us," added his wife. "We don’t know how to live each day without them."

Emotion overcame Angie Petrone as she said that she missed her father and wanted him back. Her grandfather stepped in to usher her away from the media spotlight.

Also overwhelmed, Felice Ottobre let her son John do the talking. He said his sister’s 22-month-old son, Joe Imbo Jr., needs his mother and that Angie Petrone needs her father. Ottobre urged anyone with information to come forward: "Please call- do the right thing."

"We need help from the public," urged South Detective Division Sgt. Tim Cooney, who is heading the probe. "Two people just don’t vanish off the face of the earth."

The investigation has become interstate and spans multiple jurisdictions, said the sergeant. Local police continue to use helicopters and boats to search for the couple and have canvassed Tinicum Township to the Jersey Shore, Cooney said.

There is still no cell-phone or credit-card activity for either Imbo or Petrone, he added.

Meanwhile, the case is gaining more national exposure. Imbo’s brother was on Fox’s cable news channel on Monday, Petrone’s sister Christine appeared on CNN last week and Cooney was featured on America’s Most Wanted on March 11.

The Ottobres and Petrones also purchased billboards in the tri-state area that feature the couple, while the "Missing" posters that went up a month ago still hang in the windows of many local businesses.

MONDAY NIGHT’S MASS was intended to offer a respite from the anxiety of the search. Petrone’s cousin, Donna Valente, organized the service at St. Rita’s because she felt compelled to do something in light of the ordeal.

"There is not a whole lot you can do in this type of situation," she said. "I just thought that a prayer service would be a good gesture of hope and peace for the family and friends."

Valente, a former South Philly resident who lives in Havertown, specifically chose St. Rita’s, which has a national shrine to its namesake.

"St. Rita is the miracle worker of impossible causes," she said. "Because it is the national shrine, I thought it would be a place of special reverence where we could have our novena answered." Both the Petrone and Imbo families have ties to the church at 1166 S. Broad St., though neither Danielle nor Richard grew up in the parish, Valente said.

Danielle’s parents, Felice and John, got married at St. Rita’s and lived at 28th and McKean streets. Their daughter attended first grade at King of Peace before the family moved to South Jersey. John Ottobre Sr. lost a lengthy battle with cancer six years ago.

"Our family has been through a lot," said John Jr.

Felice said they are leaning on God for sustenance.

"We’re strong in our faith," she said. "Miracles happen every day. We’re just hoping for a big miracle this time."

On March 16, a Mass was held for Imbo at St. Peter Celestine Parish in Cherry Hill. Several hundred turned out for that service, said her brother.

"She’s just larger than life. She has a smile that lights up a room," Ottobre said of his sister, whom he also described as his best friend. "People she had not spoken to in 20 years showed up- coworkers from three jobs ago. Everybody loves her, everybody wants her home. Everybody is sick."

Unable to handle the large crowd, the Petrones skipped the Mass for Richard, Valente said.

"They are very private people. This is a very devastating time for them. It’s a very private thing to be going through," she said.

However, Marge Petrone wanted everyone to know the prayers and publicity are appreciated.

"She feels very, very blessed and grateful for the outpouring of support and dedication from the media and the public," Valente said. "Everyone has been very kind in the efforts extended to help find her son."

THE SEARCH FOR Petrone and Imbo also has reached the Internet.

Longtime Petrone family friend Rolando Corpus, who attended the St. Rita’s Mass with wife Dena Lefkowitz, created www.richardpetrone.com last month. Another two sites- www.richardanddanielle.com and www.danielleimbo.com- also request tips and post updates.

Corpus and Petrone became close friends "while working side by side making wedding cakes" at Viking Pastries in Ardmore, he said.

Corpus and his wife lived above the bakery that Richard Petrone Sr. owns and his son ran. Over the years, the couple got to know the whole family. When they heard that Richard was missing, they could not imagine why.

"We thought, who could ever want to hurt him? He’s a warm, friendly, gregarious, funny, teddy bear of a guy," said Lefkowitz.

The pain of not knowing is intolerable for family and friends, said Valente.

"There can be no closure because there are no clues. You don’t know if they’re dead, you don’t know if they’re alive," she said. "You just watch the news and wait to hear something. It is just so unsettling. It’s like being in a nightmare.

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To report information, call South Detectives at 215-686-3013 or the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-TIPS.