Lydia “Dia” Abrams, 65, joyfully dropped off cinnamon rolls to a neighbor on the morning of June 6, 2020. Five and a half hours later, she went missing from her 117-acre ranch in the San Jacinto Mountains.

Dia married Clem Abrams in 1984, and they had two children, Clinton and Crisara. Dia liked to travel and enjoyed hiking and exploring national parks. Dia’s children describe her as a sweet, caring, kind person who adored animals and always had a lot of heart. Clem owned a 116-acre ranch property, known as Bonita Vista Ranch.

Legal Battles

In 2015, Clem reinstated a trust that he created in 1991. In 2018, Clem died after a long-term illness. As part of Clem’s final wishes, Dia inherited the family ranch. During this same time, Dia was in the midst of a court battle with her adult children over Clem’s estate who were nominated as co-trustees and executors of the estate.

Prior to Dia’s disappearance, she was trying to invalidate the 1984 prenuptial agreement the couple signed. When Dia signed the prenuptial agreement, she was 4 months pregnant and in the process of planning her wedding. Clem wanted her to sign a prenup, and Dia felt obligated to do so. Per the agreement, Dia's income during the marriage would remain her property, while Clem's income during their marriage would remain his separate property. Clem encouraged Dia not to work, and he had complete financial control. Dia’s did not accrue any significant income or property of her own but Clem was incredibly wealthy.

Following Clem’s death, Dia inherited some of Clem’s properties along with a marital trust. In addition to trying to invalidate the prenup, Dia was seeking $6.7 million from her late husband's estate to fund the marital trust. However, Clinton and Crisara filed an opposition to their mother’s request.

Dia met Kieth Harper, her alleged fiancé, in 2016, and not long after, he moved in with her. By 2019, the two were engaged.

The day Dia went missing.

On May 22, 2020, Dia signs over a series of property transfers, which included a parcel with elaborate ranch houses in Apple Canyon, a nearby house to the west of the ranch, and another house in Garner Valley, where friends said Dia kept some of her horses. The trust was not recorded in that document, therefore, the inheritance remains unknown.

On the morning of June 6, 2020, Dia was captured on ring footage delivering cinnamon rolls to a neighbor undergoing medical treatment. This footage was released three years later. That afternoon, Dia and Keith ate lunch together at 2:30 p.m. This was the last time Keith saw Dia.

Keith was doing work on the property. Dia and Keith had plans to take a trip to Colorado the next day. When he returned to the property, Dia could not be located. Keith tried calling her but found her phone charging in their bedroom. Dia had mentioned that she was going to the lower part of the property, but when he walked around, he saw Dia's truck, which worried him because that was Dia's only mode of transportation.

Dia was reported missing to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office on June 7, 2020. With the help of Rivermountain Mountain Rescue Unit, authorities searched the ranch and the surrounding area. They were unable to locate Dia. While searching, authorities discovered a marijuana greenhouse on the property.

On June 8, 2020, Keith Harper packed up his RV and left for seven days. He tells Diana Fedder, a friend of Dia’s, that he has to check in with his probation officer. This statement is later determined to be inconsistent with previous testimony Keith provided.

The next day, authorities obtained a search warrant for the marijuana greenhouse located on the property and for Keith’s RV and the RV storage facility. Investigators seized 2,389 marijuana plants and 357 pounds of processed marijuana. Authorities also seized two spent bullet casings; a tan bed sheet, a Band-Aid and a piece of toilet tissue, all with possible blood on them; two handwritten letters; and a Netgear router. According to Fedder, Dia was aware that the plants were being grown on the property by tenants but wanted nothing to do with it and kept collecting the rent. The police were suspicious of Keith for leaving in the midst of the search for Dia. Foul play was suspected.

In August 2020, the Riverside Sheriff's Department confirmed that they are investigating the disappearances of six people, -including Dia - in and around Idyllwild-Pine Cove. Luckily, two of the missing people were found safely.

A case within a case

Not long after Dia went missing, another woman, Jodi Newkirk, died on the ranch on December 23, 2021. Jodi was staying at the ranch, and Keith Harper was her landlord. It is estimated that Jodi started working on the ranch four months prior.

Jodi was also renting a property on the ranch that belonged to Dia. Keith told police he last saw Jodi going to cut down a Christmas tree on the property and was riding the ATV. Approximately a half hour later, he found Jodi under the ATV. When police arrived on scene, it was treated like a homicide.

An autopsy and toxicology report would show that Jodi died from a meth overdose. She had 3.5mg of meth per liter of blood in her system. Jodi was a long time drug user, who started at the age of 15. Regardless, this was a large quantity in her system, even for someone with a history of drug use. Authorities are still unclear if Jodi administered the meth herself or if someone administered it on her behalf.

While Jodi’s family were going through her belongings they found a series of handwritten notes - some of them dated. It is alleged that Jodi and Keith may have been in a relationship. Months after Dia’s disappearance, Jodi wrote a note to both Dia and Keith that read:

Sept 22, 2021.
Dear Dia (& Harper)

So even tho we never met I really feel a bond with you. I know it’s very possible you may not feel the same. You may just hate my guts. But I hope from the bottom & all of my heart that you realize that I truly have you & yours, all of your animals, friends & home, possessions, & even Harper’s best interest at heart. Right now I am totally and completely screwing up my life as far as my legal, my soc. sec., my personal relationships (tho it was already). And I know so far it has been a challenge to get the right people & get moving in the direction of getting out of the red & maybe Harper can take better care of himself so he can be around here for you when you come home! And I do honestly think you will be coming home!! I hope you like me!!

P.S. I just want to say thank you so much to you & to Harper both. Because this has been a life saver to me. It’s given me a purpose again!! And believe again!!

Jodi’s case remains open and unsolved, and foul play has not been ruled out, according to police.

Where the case stands today.

Dia Abram’s case remains unsolved, and no remains have never been found. While Dia has not been declared legally deceased, court documents have suggested that is the family’s belief.

Dia Abrams is a white female with blonde hair, blue eyes. She is 5’5” tall and weighs approximately 130 pounds. Dia has a surgical scar on her abdomen and a scar on her lower back extending from hip to hip. Her ears are pierced. Her nickname is Dia, and most accounts refer to her by that name. She was last seen wearing a black and turquoise windbreaker jacket, a yellow shirt, blue jeans, and four rings on her right hand.

If you have any information relating to the disappearance of Lydia “Dia” Abrams” please contact the Riverside County Sheriff's Office at 951-955-2450.