MOUNTAIN CENTER, Calif. — Eviction notices have been posted at a ranch near Idyllwild where Dia Abrams went missing three and a half years ago. The notice gives Abrams’ boyfriend and ranch hand, Keith Harper, 60 days to vacate the property.
CBS 8 spoke to the missing woman’s sister, who is hoping a $300,000 reward in the case will lead to the former La Jolla resident being found.
Peggy Kotner is speaking out in her first television interview about her sister, Dia Abrams, who went missing on June 6, 2020 from her ranch in Mountain Center. Her body has not been found.
“Dia was giving. Dia was funny. Dia was caring. Dia loved animals,” Kotner said.
“We used to put on old Salvation Army bags and cut [eye] holes out and run up and down the street. We grew up on Mount Helix and we’d run up the street. She was a good girl,” said Kotner.
Two weeks before Abrams, 65, went missing, she amended her trust, leaving her 117-acre Bonita Vista Ranch and two other properties in Mountain Center to her ranch hand, Keith Harper. Harper, 74, also claimed to be Abrams’ fiancé.
“I don’t like this guy. I don’t like this guy at all,” said Kotner. “First of all, she never would have remarried. She never would have remarried this dude, ever, ever. I know my sister. My sister was a was a class act,” said Kotner.
Abrams had lived in Mountain Center for several years. Her husband, La Jolla developer Clem Abrams passed away in 2018.
Since 2021, Abrams’ adult children have been battling Harper in court over control of the Bonita Vista ranch.
Last month, a Riverside County probate judge removed Harper as a trustee, after he allegedly tried to list Abrams’ ranch for sale. A court-appointed trustee is now in charge of the estate.
In late November, eviction notices were posted at the ranch by the court-appointed trustee, giving harper 60 days to vacate the property. The notice prohibits Harper from removing furniture, antiques, jewelry, watches, firearms, vehicles, and other valuables from the estate.
Harper remains a person of interest in Abrams’ disappearance. He has not been charged or arrested in the case. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department continues to investigate.
“I think my sister was gullible.I think that she craved being loved. And I think that he isolated her. I think he got her up there and told her that nobody cared for her, just him,” said Kotner.
Currently, there is a $300,000 reward offered for information that leads to Abrams’ remains and a conviction in the case.
“I’m hoping that somebody will finally get sick and tired of this, you know, hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. Start speaking, start talking,” said Kotner.
The 60-day deadline for Harper to vacate the ranch in Mountain Center will hit at the end of January.
Following the broadcast of this report Keith Harper texted CBS 8 the following statement:
“[Y]ou are so focused on convicting me for the whole disappearance Of Dia. Then why am I the only one trying to find Her. Why is that the Find me organization actually located where her body is. near Lake Hemet 3 weeks ago and Riverside Sheriff office have failed to recover her. Alberto Loureio the investigator hasn’t even made the effort to recover. 4 Cadaver dogs all alerted to the same Location yet they have made no effort. To recover her remains. Alberto also holds the evidence of who killed her on the film taken on the video at the Ranch. Yet they were in court on the 14th of November and given minimum sentences for Burglary they commited. Yet all three were seen near the Ranch hours before she Disappeared. News that worth reporting but you fail..”
Editor’s Note: This article has been updated from its original version to include a response from Keith Harper.
WATCH: Extended excerpts from Peggy Kotner’s interview with CBS 8: