MOUNTAIN CENTER, Calif. — A photo showing Keith Harper driving away from the Bonita Vista Ranch near Idyllwild this week appeared to capture yet another act of disregard for the legal system.
Harper, the ranch hand of former La Jolla resident and missing woman, Dia Abrams, had signed a stipulation in Riverside County Superior Court that he would vacate Abrams’ ranch by Sunday, January 28. Instead, he exited the ranch a day late, driving a pickup truck seen towing an ATV.
A neighbor told CBS 8 that Harper left the ranch on Monday at 7:30 a.m.
The ATV in tow appeared to be one of several valuables under dispute in an ongoing probate court battle between Harper and Abrams’ two adult children. The stipulated court order instructed Harper to provide “proof of ownership” of a “red Suzuki 4 Wheel ATV” to the court-appointed trustee of the estate or forfeit the vehicle.
Harper, 74, did not respond to repeated messages from CBS 8, requesting an interview with him at the front gate of the ranch.
Following Harper’s departure, a neighbor reported seeing a locksmith and alarm company enter the ranch. The court trustee, Richard Munro, was scheduled to take possession of the 117-acre ranch and install a new “caretaker”, according to legal arguments during a Riverside County probate court hearing on January 19.
Insiders said the animals on the ranch have been relocated.
A hearing is set for April 23 when a Riverside County probate court judge will hear arguments on a motion filed by Harper requesting $322,000 from Abrams’ estate, including $197K reimbursement for “loans” Harper claims he made to the estate over the past three years, $75K for “reasonable trustee compensation” when Harper was acting as co-trustee, and $50K for Harper’s “attorney’s fees”, according to the motion.
Dia Abrams, 65, went missing from the Bonita Vista Ranch in Mountain Center on June 6, 2020. She was seen on a Ring doorbell cam that Saturday morning around 9 a.m. delivering cinnamon rolls to a neighbor's front door. Harper said he was the last person to see her alive during a midday lunch at the ranch. Despite numerous community and law enforcement searches, Abrams’ remains were never found.
Two weeks before Abrams disappeared, she filed a restated trust naming Harper as trustee of her estate, which included the Bonita Vista Ranch and two nearby rental properties.
Abrams’ adult children challenged the restated trust in Riverside probate court in 2021. Under a March 2023 settlement agreement between the parties, if Abrams is not located by June 6, 2025, 50% of her liquidated estate will go to her adult children, Crisara and Clinton Abrams. The other 50% would go to Harper.
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.
Harper’s attorney, Maryann Briseno, did not respond to a message seeking comment on where her client will now be living. Harper owns properties in New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona, real estate records showed. As a registered sex offender, Harper would be required to register his new address in his state of residence.
The current 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: Search warrant served on the ranch of missing woman Dia Abrams:
