10/8/2023: This article has been updated to include information about a reward.
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65-year-old Lydia Abrams, also known as Dia, was last seen June 6, 2020, at her home in Mountain Center, California.
Her son, Clinton Abrams, told Dateline that his mother is “a kind, sweet, caring person,” who loves animals and has “a lot of heart.”
Dia was born and raised about two hours away from Mountain Center in San Diego, California. In 1984, she married Clem Abrams and the couple had two children: Crisara and Clinton. “It’s beautiful,” Clinton said about growing up in San Diego. “Great weather, definitely can’t complain.” Clem and Dia made a good living in real estate, and the family prospered.
Clinton told Dateline that his mother has always loved adventure. “She liked to go to national parks and hike,” Clinton said. “She liked to travel.”
After Clem’s death in 2018, Dia took over the family’s 116-acre ranch in Mountain Center. Clinton told Dateline his mother loved the ranch because it included her two favorite things: nature and animals. “It’s got a beautiful custom home on it,” Clinton said. “It’s got a lot of streams flowing through it.”
“It’s a beautiful piece of property,” the current manager of the ranch,73-year-old Keith Harper, told Dateline. “I’ve always enjoyed the ranch.”
According to Keith, he met Dia online in 2016 and the two began dating. “We hit it off from the moment we met,” Keith told Dateline. “Probably within the next 60 days, I moved in with her.”
Keith said he and Dia got engaged in June 2019 while on a hike at a place called ‘The Butterfly.’ “It’s like a little rock formation,” Keith said. “She was the brightest, most energetic individual,” Keith told Dateline about Dia.
Dateline also spoke with Diana Fedder, who said she met Dia in 2015. They were neighbors in Mountain Center. “We had similar friends. It’s a small community up there,” Diana said. “I loved her the minute I met her.”
Diana said she and Dia became instant friends. “She’s, like, awesome,” Diana said. “A very strong personality, you know, a little spitfire.” Diana added that she viewed Dia as a “big sister” figure.
Saturday, June 6, 2020, was like any other day, Diana told Dateline. She said Dia texted her that morning. “She was asking what window washer I use.”
Keith Harper told Dateline that he and Dia were together that day. “We had lunch together at 2:30 p.m.,” Keith said. After lunch, Keith says he did some work on the property, since he and Dia were supposed to take a trip to Colorado the next day.
Keith said he came back to the house at approximately 7:30 p.m. “When I got home, I could not locate her,” he said. “So, I called her.” Dia didn’t respond.
Keith said he later found her cellphone charging in their bedroom. Her purse was also in the house.
“She talked about going to the lower ranch,” Keith said, so he initially believed Dia had just gone there. But when he walked outside and around to the back of the house he saw her truck. That’s when he got worried. “It was the only transportation she had,” Keith said.
Keith told Dateline that Dia didn’t return home that night. The next day, Sunday, June 7, he “filed a missing person report with the Riverside Sheriff’s Office.”
Clinton Abrams told Dateline he learned about his mother’s disappearance from one of her neighbors and he immediately left San Diego and went to the ranch. “I drove up there that Sunday,” Clinton said. And by Monday, “missing persons came out, homicide came out, there was a dive team.”
Keith Harper also described the scene in the days following Dia’s disappearance. “We spent three days with an intense search of 26 people -- friends of hers -- looking for her,” he said. “We were using her dogs, as they would recognize her scent.”
Clinton Abrams says he just wants to find out what happened to his mother. “It just doesn’t make sense,” he said. He tells Dateline that he believes Keith Harper knows more about Dia’s disappearance than he has yet revealed. He’s also doubtful that his mother and Keith Harper ever were engaged.
When asked if he had something to do with Dia’s disappearance, Keith Harper responded “absolutely not.”
Dateline reached out to the Riverside Sheriff’s Department about Dia’s disappearance. Sergeant Brandi Swan responded by email that “the case is still being investigated by our Central Homicide Unit and no further details will be released.”
Clinton hopes “there will be a more robust investigation into my mother’s disappearance.” In an email to Dateline he stressed that he also just wants to get the word out about his mother. “If we cannot get out awareness,” he said, “we never will get real answers.”
A reward totaling $300,000 is being offered by the Dia Kenshalo Abrams Trust in regard to her disappearance.
Dia is 5’6” with blue eyes. At the time of her disappearance, she had blonde hair and weighed 135 lbs. Dia would be 68 years old today.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department after-hours hotline at 951-776-1099, Investigator Loureiro at 760-578-2101, or Investigator Vasquez at 951-203-3767.