MOUNTAIN CENTER, Calif. — Riverside Sheriff investigators brought in heavy equipment over the weekend to search for the remains of Dia Abrams on her ranch near Idyllwild.
The former La Jolla woman went missing from the ranch in 2020. Her body has not been found.
Neighbors woke up early Sunday morning to the sound of a sheriff helicopter flying over the ranch in Mountain Center. On a loudspeaker, officers told Abrams' boyfriend and ranch manager, Keith Harper, to come outside because they were serving a search warrant, according to a witness.
Neighbors recorded video showing about a dozen law enforcement vehicles driving onto the 117-acre Bonita Vista Ranch.
Once there, officers set up shade structures and searched the property for evidence in the disappearance of Abrams, who has been missing for three and a half years.
Neighbors said investigators also brought in heavy equipment – a backhoe on the rear of a trailer – presumably to dig up areas on the ranch where they suspected Abrams’ remains could be located.
Abrams, 65, went missing from the ranch on June 6, 2020, two weeks after filing trust papers naming her boyfriend Harper as co-trustee of her estate.
Then, days after her disappearance, Harper left the state, driving his RV to New Mexico where officers seized it and removed a "section of front driver seat" as evidence, according to a 2020 search warrant.
Harper continues to live on the ranch and manage it, renting out cabins on the property he calls Cali's Great Escape.
Harper, 74, has repeatedly denied any involvement in Abrams disappearance, telling Investigation Discovery last month that he loved Abrams and planned to marry her.
“When somebody asks me, 'Did you kill her?', I've had that question asked. And I said, honestly, you don't kill people that you love. You kill people that you don't love,” Harper told Investigation Discovery.
This past weekend, volunteers with the Riverside Mountain Rescue team were seen searching the remote and rugged ranch for the seventh time, according to one team member who spoke to CBS 8.
The latest search effort came 10 days after a $300,000 reward was announced for information in the case leading to the arrest of a suspect and the discovery of Abrams’ remains.
A Riverside Sheriff public information officer emailed CBS 8 a statement on Sunday saying, “Riverside County Sheriff's Office personnel are in the 58000 block of Bonita Vista Road in Mountain Center serving a search warrant. No arrests have been made at this time. Currently, no further details are available.”
CBS 8 reached out Keith Harper for comment on the search warrant being served. He texted CBS 8 the following statement:
“Same warrant as in her disappearance and what did they find, nothing. On Thursday Riverside County Attorney investigator Patrick Kenny was ask to investigate corruption charges on Alberto Loureio for failure to Provide proof that the those who were arrested on the Memorial weekend were the same that were present on June 6th, 2020 and performed the execution Of Dia Abrams. Clearly present on the video footage currently in the hand of Roberto Loureio who has refused to release the recording, requested by the Director of the Find Me organization. If it clearly shows the execution Dia then why is She presently listed as a missing person. KENNY provided the contact of how were to file the corruption order but preferred not to personally get involved. Loureio reacted by filling a third requested search warrant on the Ranch. Again coming up empty handed.”
WATCH RELATED: Missing woman Dia Abrams gets national exposure on ID network