MOUNTAIN CENTER, Calif. — It’s been four years since former La Jolla resident, Dia Abrams, went missing from her ranch near Idyllwild. Abrams, 65, is presumed dead though her body has not been found.
A $300,000 reward was offered months ago, as part of a settlement agreement in a probate court battle over her estate between her adult children and ranch hand Keith Harper.
“I didn't think it would go 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 go for anybody to come forward. They will remain completely anonymous.”
Riverside County Sheriff detectives have identified Harper, Dia Abrams’ ranch manager and former boyfriend. as a suspect in her murder. Harper has denied any involvement in her death.
Harper, now age 74, said he was the last person to see Abrams alive on her ranch on June 6, 2020. Two weeks before she went missing, Abrams amended her trust naming Harper as a trustee of her estate.
“Keith Harper, to me, he's a pathological liar. He's sinister and diabolical. But I've never felt him to be the mastermind,” said Clinton Abrams during an interview at his home on Mt. Soledad.
The son said he believes Dia Abrams’ murder was a conspiracy involving multiple people.
“I think it needs to be taken up the ladder into the FBI and the DOJ. This is a this is a real plan, a sinister plot,” said Clinton Abrams.
He added, “If you look at the crime as a conspiracy charge, since we don't have a body as of yet, these people can be rung up on a conspiracy, and conspiracy charges are often inferred and built on circumstantial evidence.”
He is not alone in his theory.
Julie Stanford was one of about 20 neighbors who searched for Abrams on her 117-acre, Bonita Vista Ranch the day after she went missing.
“I think it's more than a one-man crime. I think there are people involved with it,” she said.
Stanford said she remembers Harper crying while packing up his RV camper as he prepared to drive to Arizona for a business appointment, two days after Abrams went missing.
“He stood there, kind of by the front of the camper, boo-hoo-hoo, ‘I'll never see her again.’ And I thought to myself, what the hell? This is two days after she's gone! Why in the hell would you say I'll never see her again?” said Stanford.
During an hour-long interview with CBS 8, Clinton Abrams shared some previously unreleased evidence in the case.
“When I first arrived on the scene. The only sign of forced entry was the second-floor balcony of the master bedroom. Somebody had gotten on the second floor of the roof and kicked in the door from the outside. And, so, the wood trim from the outside was shattered inside my mother’s bedroom,” the son said. “So, the conclusion I draw from that is she sequestered herself in her master bedroom, as a means of protection because she knew that something was coming.”
Clinton Abrams also recounted what he called a break-in to his mother’s Ford pickup truck at the ranch, days after Abrams went missing and days after Harper had left the state in his RV, reportedly taking Dia Abrams' dog with him.
The incident, previously reported by CBS 8, was detailed in a probate-court deposition of Diana Fedder, a retired Secret Service agent and neighbor who helped Abrams manage her ranch.
“Diane Fedder with another individual snuck onto the property. She broke into the truck (and) set off the car alarm, awaking the neighbors,” Clinton Abrams said. “She took a pearl-handled 38 special revolver. She took some jewelry. And she took the garage-door opener to the Tool Box property,” said Abrams’ son.
Attorneys questioned Fedder about the same incident during her deposition in April 2022, and Fedder responded:
“Harper was out of town. So I was trying to get the animals fed at Bonita Vista as well as Garner Valley. Ruby (Dia’s dog) was diagnosed with some type of uterine cancer and had special food. And a bunch of her food was in Dia's truck. So we went in the truck to get that special medicated food for her. So I took a leash, a dog bowl, and a couple of cans of her medicated dog food. And on the front seat of the unlocked truck was a handgun. And being in law enforcement, you do not leave a loaded handgun unattended, period. So I took the handgun back to my friend's house, and I said, I just want you to see what I have; we took this from the truck; I'm going to secure it in my safe. And I secured it in my safe. I told Harper about it, and I told the police about it.”
Fedder did not respond to a message from CBS 8 seeking comment for this report.
In 2025 – on the 5-year mark of Dia Abrams going missing – she will be legally declared dead. That's when, under the terms of a probate court settlement, 50% of her estate will go to her two adult children and 50 percent to Keith Harper.
“If we don't get answers within one year, Keith Harper walks away with millions of dollars,” said Clinton Abrams. “I implore anybody with information to come forward, even if it's the tiniest thing.”
Riverside County Sheriff homicide detective Alberto Louriero declined to release any information, except to say the case remains open and, “I am working diligently on her case.”
WATCH: Extended excerpts of CBS 8 interview with Clinton Abrams: