MOUNTAIN CENTER, Calif. — The boyfriend of former La Jolla resident Lydia “Dia” Abrams has agreed to vacate her ranch near Idyllwild by January 28, nearly four years after she went missing without a trace on June 6, 2020.
Notice was filed this week in Riverside County probate court, in the form of a stipulation signed by Keith Harper and a court order stating, “Harper shall voluntarily and forever vacate by no later than January 28, 2024, and stay away from the Bonita Vista Property and not return.”
The current court-appointed trustee, Richard Munro, “has received credible reports that Harper has improperly removed personal property from the Bonita Vista Property,” the stipulation reads, including an “army jeep, exercise/ gymnasium equipment, and a red Suzuki 4 Wheel ATV.”
“The vintage army jeep and exercise/ gymnasium equipment shall be returned by January 28, 2024. Mr. Harper may present evidence to Mr. Munro by January 24, 2024 of his ownership of those particular items and, if satisfactory in Mr. Munro' s sole discretion, Mr. Harper may retain those particular items,” according to the court records.
Harper’s agreement to move out ends a three-year court battle over the Bonita Vista Ranch between Abrams’ two adult children and Harper, who admitted in an interview with CBS 8 that he was the last person to see her alive on the ranch.
Harper said he had lunch with Abrams’ at the ranch on the afternoon of June 6, 2020, and then left her alone, while he said he mowed the meadow on the 117-acre property.
When Harper returned from his ranch work around 7:30 that evening, he said, Abrams was gone. She had left her cell phone, purse, and Ford truck behind. Community members searched the property all day on Sunday, June 7, 2020, but found nothing.
Harper then left the ranch on Monday morning, June 8, 2020, and drove across state lines to Arizona, where he owns the property, and into New Mexico, where he owns a storage business.
Harper claimed during a deposition that he was in contact with law enforcement while he drove across state lines.
Officers then caught up with Harper at his business in Aztec, New Mexico, and served a search warrant on the RV he was driving. They seized a "section of front driver seat" as evidence.
Investigators also searched Harper's storage business, American Storage Complex. The list of evidence removed from the business was kept secret by California investigators.
Riverside detectives also served search warrants on the Bonita Vista Ranch, where Abrams lived, and the Sky High Ranch, her rental property located nearby.
It remains unclear whether officers ever searched a third property owned by Abrams, a rental property on Tool Box Spring Road in Mountain Center.
Harper has lived on the Bonita Vista Ranch and managed it ever since Abrams went missing.
In November, a Riverside County probate judge removed Harper as co-trustee of the Abrams estate, after he allegedly tried to list the Bonita Vista Ranch for sale in violation of court orders.
Under a March 2023 settlement agreement between the parties, if Abrams is not located by June 2025, 50% of her liquidated estate will go to her adult children, Crisara and Clinton Abrams. The other 50% would go to Harper.
Insiders told CBS 8 the Bonita Vista Ranch will be listed for sale in the coming days, perhaps as early as Monday, January 29, when Munro and a security team are expected to take possession of the property after Harper vacates.
Currently, the Sky High Ranch located at 28893 Bonita Vista Road is listed for sale at $298,000. The house located at 36581 Tool Box Springs currently is listed at $850,000.
The court-appointed trustee has posted a $300,000 reward for information that leads to the discovery of Abrams’ remains and the conviction of a suspect in her disappearance.
WATCH: Eviction notices posted at Dia Abrams’ ranch near Idyllwild:
