It's been 4 years since Dia Abrams disappeared near Idyllwild

MOUNTAIN CENTER, Calif. — It's been four years since Dia Abrams, a former La Jolla resident, disappeared from her ranch near Idyllwild. Abrams, 65, is presumed dead although her body has not been found.

A $300,000 reward was offered months ago, as part of a settlement agreement in a court battle over her estate between her adult children and ranch employee Keith Harper.

“I didn't think it would be four years without finding my mother,” said the missing woman's son, Clinton Abrams. “There is a $300,000 cash reward in a bank, ready to be paid to anyone who comes forward. They will remain completely anonymous.

Riverside County sheriff's detectives identified Harper, Dia Abrams' ranch manager and former boyfriend. as a suspect in his murder. Harper has denied any involvement in his death.

Harper, now 74, said he was the last person to see Abrams alive at his ranch on June 6, 2020. Two weeks before his disappearance, Abrams amended his trust, naming Harper as trustee of his estate.

“Keith Harper, to me, is a pathological liar. He is sinister and evil. But I never felt like he was the mastermind,” Clinton Abrams said in an interview at his home on Mount Soledad.

The son said he believed Dia Abrams' murder was a conspiracy involving multiple people.

“I think you have to work your way up to the FBI and the DOJ. This is a real plan, a sinister plot,” Clinton Abrams said.

He added: “If you look at the crime as a conspiracy charge, since we don't have a body yet, these people can be suspected of conspiracy, and conspiracy charges are often inferred and based on circumstantial evidence. »

He is not alone in his theory.

Julie Stanford was one of 20 neighbors who searched for Abrams on her 117-acre Bonita Vista ranch the day after she disappeared.

“I think this is more than a crime committed by one man. I think there are people involved in this,” she said.

Stanford said she remembers Harper crying as he packed up his RV as he prepared to drive to Arizona for a business meeting, two days after Abrams disappeared .

“He was standing there, kind of at the front of the camper, boo-hoo-hoo, 'I'll never see her again.' And I was like, what is this? It's two days after he left! Why the hell do you say I'll never see her again? Stanford said.

During an hour-long interview with CBS 8, Clinton Abrams shared never-before-seen evidence in the case.

“When I arrived on the scene. The only sign of a break-in was the second floor balcony off the master bedroom. Someone had climbed to the second floor of the roof and broken down the door from the outside. And so the woodwork from the outside was broken in my mother’s room,” the son said. “So the conclusion I draw is that she sequestered herself in her master bedroom, as a means of protection because she knew something was going to happen.”

Clinton Abrams also recounted what he called a break-in into his mother's Ford pickup truck at the ranch, days after Abrams disappeared and days after Harper left the state in his RV, apparently taking Dia Abrams' dog with him.

The incident, previously reported by CBS 8, was detailed in a probate court deposition from Diana Fedder, a retired Secret Service agent and neighbor who helped Abrams run his ranch.

“Diane Fedder and another individual sneaked onto the property. She broke into the truck (and) set off the car alarm, waking up the neighbors,” Clinton Abrams said. “She took a special 38 revolver with a pearl handle. She took jewelry. And she brought the garage door opener to the Tool Box property,” Abrams’ son said.

Lawyers asked Fedder about the same incident during his April 2022 deposition, and Fedder responded:

“Harper was out of town. So I was trying to feed the animals in Bonita Vista as well as Garner Valley. Ruby (Dia's dog) was diagnosed with uterine cancer and given special food. And a lot of his food was in Dia's truck. So we went in the truck to get this special medicated food for her. So I grabbed a leash, a dog bowl, and a few cans of his medicated dog food. And in the front seat of the unlocked truck was a handgun. And being a member of law enforcement, you don't leave a loaded handgun unattended, period. So I took the handgun back to my friend's house and said, I just want you to see what I have; we took this in the truck; I'll put it safely in my safe. And I put it safely in my safe. I told Harper and the police.

Fedder did not respond to a message from CBS 8 seeking comment for this report.

In 2025 – after five years of Dia Abrams’ disappearance – she will be legally declared dead. That's when, under the terms of a probate court settlement, 50 percent of his estate will go to his two adult children and 50 percent to Keith Harper.

“If we don't get answers within a year, Keith Harper will walk away with millions of dollars,” Clinton Abrams said. “I implore anyone with information to come forward, even if it’s the smallest thing.”

Riverside County Sheriff's Homicide Detective Alberto Louriero declined to release any information except to say the case remains open and, “I am working diligently on his case.”