The man managing Bonita Vista Ranch in Garner Valley, owned by Dia Kenshalo Abrams, 65, who went missing June 6, 2020, has petitioned a San Juan County, Colorado, court to have his sex offender registration discontinued.

Keith Leslie Harper, 72, a ranch hand who lives on the property and claims to be Abrams’ fiancé, is the beneficiary of her properties along with Diana Fedder, a Mountain Center resident, according to Abrams’ Dec. 16, 2016, trust amended May 22, 2020, in Riverside County, just weeks before she disappeared.

Harper, 72, is a registered sex offender having been found guilty of sexual misconduct toward three women on a Feb. 24, 2011, snowmobile tour near Durango, Colorado where he was operating Outlaw River & Jeep Tours. He was found guilty of groping the women.

Under Colorado state law, sex offenders may petition to have their registration discontinued under certain conditions, such as, in Harper’s case, the conviction occurred 10 or more years ago.

In some cases, such as if he were considered a sexually violent predator or had been convicted of sexually abusing a child, he would not be allowed to petition the court for registration discontinuance.

Harper filed the petition March 15, 2022. His hearing is scheduled for 9 a.m. Tuesday, May 17.

Harper reported an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) fatality on the Garner Valley property in December 2021 that quickly became a case of a suspicious death on the ranch. The victim was identified as Jodi Newkirk, 46, of Mountain Center, a ranch worker.

At 5:07 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 23, Riverside County (RC) Fire and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) were dispatched to Bonita Vista Ranch on Bonita Vista Road in Mountain Center to what was reported as an ATV rollover.

RC Fire logged it as a traumatic injury where the “rider perished at the scene.”

But at 5:39 p.m., RC Sheriff’s Department deputies out of the Hemet station were called to “… a suspicious death investigation believed to have been a traffic fatality …

“Upon arriving, deputies located a deceased female in the open area of a large private property with unexplained injuries. A crime scene was secured, and the Central Homicide Unit responded and assumed the investigation.”

Investigators remained on scene until late afternoon Friday due to the terrain and inclement weather. RC Sheriff’s Department still has not commented further on the investigation.

Anyone with information regarding the Mountain Center investigation is asked to call Master Investigator Loureiro of the Central Homicide Unit Station at 951-955-277 or Investigator Rinkert of the Hemet Sheriff’s Station at 951-791-3400.

In the case of Abrams’ amended trust, her children Clinton and Crisara Abrams filed a petition May 21, 2021, to invalidate the trust based on undue influence; and for damages for elder abuse. The contested probate hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Monday, May 9.