WEBVTT - Episode 6: “Spoils of War” 0:00:15.422 --> 0:00:30.222 Pushkin last time on Where's Dea? 0:00:32.502 --> 0:00:34.902 I think we just got called over to put all 0:00:34.942 --> 0:00:38.742 kinds of footprints everywhere and to just damage the crime 0:00:38.782 --> 0:00:39.502 scene basically. 0:00:40.262 --> 0:00:43.022 You know, in my opinion, they've always known it was 0:00:43.062 --> 0:00:48.182 a month because the video shows that. Why the video 0:00:48.342 --> 0:00:50.222 that was here at the range. 0:00:59.382 --> 0:01:03.902 One day, about three years after Dea went missing, the 0:01:03.982 --> 0:01:09.822 Riverside Sheriff's Department made a dramatic move around a police 0:01:09.862 --> 0:01:13.862 cars swarmed beneath a Vista ranch. A white and green 0:01:14.022 --> 0:01:19.702 sheriff's helicopter flew above. Local CBS news reporter David Godfredson 0:01:20.342 --> 0:01:23.582 rushed to the scene to report the unfolding events. 0:01:24.022 --> 0:01:27.062 Neighbors woke up early Sunday morning to the sound of 0:01:27.102 --> 0:01:32.142 a sheriff's helicopter flying over Dia Abrams Ranch near Idlewild. 0:01:32.702 --> 0:01:37.702 The cops demanded through a loudspeaker that Keith Harper come outside. 0:01:38.582 --> 0:01:43.542 They handed him a search warrant and on a large trailer. 0:01:44.062 --> 0:01:48.502 The cops carted in a heavy back home, presumably to dig. 0:01:53.782 --> 0:01:57.742 Did you hear what happened a couple of weeks ago. Yeah, yeah, 0:01:57.822 --> 0:02:00.102 they went in a helicopter and all that, you know, 0:02:00.542 --> 0:02:01.782 which was like ray. 0:02:01.862 --> 0:02:07.702 Finally Julie Stanford is DEA's longtime Idle Wild friend. When 0:02:07.742 --> 0:02:11.222 I spoke to her in octob twenty twenty three, the 0:02:11.262 --> 0:02:15.302 cops had just searched the ranch for her. It felt 0:02:15.302 --> 0:02:16.462 like a glimmer of hope. 0:02:16.902 --> 0:02:19.742 They must think out because how could they go there 0:02:19.862 --> 0:02:23.222 in today? Did the helicopter and all the police? 0:02:23.542 --> 0:02:24.702 Hopefully they have something. 0:02:26.822 --> 0:02:31.942 This all happened three years after Dia disappeared. I couldn't 0:02:31.982 --> 0:02:35.502 help but wonder what information the cops had that made 0:02:35.542 --> 0:02:38.302 them search the ranch again. They would have had to 0:02:38.342 --> 0:02:41.862 show probable cause to get that search warrant, that a 0:02:41.902 --> 0:02:46.302 crime had likely occurred on the ranch and that evidence 0:02:46.382 --> 0:02:49.782 of the crime was going to be found there. Though 0:02:50.222 --> 0:02:52.262 when I tried to get a copy of the warrant 0:02:52.382 --> 0:02:56.142 from Riverside Superior Court, they told me there wasn't one 0:02:56.182 --> 0:02:59.542 for that date and redirected me to the one from 0:02:59.582 --> 0:03:07.222 twenty twenty. I don't know what the cops found at 0:03:07.262 --> 0:03:10.582 the ranch, if anything, because they haven't responded to my 0:03:10.702 --> 0:03:14.982 questions about it. But what I do know is Harper 0:03:15.062 --> 0:03:20.462 wasn't arrested and he continued living at Bunnita Vista. It 0:03:20.542 --> 0:03:25.302 felt like a huge anticlimax. This sudden flurry of activity, 0:03:25.742 --> 0:03:29.102 and then once again pretty much nothing as far as 0:03:29.102 --> 0:03:38.422 I could tell. Unlike the cops, Clinton, Abrams, dear Son, 0:03:38.742 --> 0:03:42.302 and Harper have been willing to share what they've discovered 0:03:42.422 --> 0:03:46.542 along the way. Clinton has interviewed people who knew Dea 0:03:47.062 --> 0:03:50.982 and followed all kinds of leads, leads that even I 0:03:51.142 --> 0:03:55.742 thought were too outlandish to pursue. As for Harper, well, 0:03:56.582 --> 0:04:01.342 he's still working with those psychics. In our season finale, 0:04:01.982 --> 0:04:06.502 where things stand today as the search for Dea continues, 0:04:10.782 --> 0:04:16.942 I'm Lucy Sheriff, and this is Where's Deer? Episode six, 0:04:17.902 --> 0:04:19.342 Spoils of War. 0:04:32.062 --> 0:04:34.022 The food is in my truck and the waters in 0:04:34.102 --> 0:04:34.502 my truck. 0:04:34.742 --> 0:04:36.182 I have a case of water on the boat, and 0:04:36.222 --> 0:04:38.582 I have a fifty five gallon cooler on the boat. 0:04:38.902 --> 0:04:43.182 You might remember Kelly Snyder from an earlier episode. He's 0:04:43.262 --> 0:04:47.022 the former Dea agent who runs Find Me, the nonprofit 0:04:47.142 --> 0:04:48.742 that searches for missing people. 0:04:49.782 --> 0:04:52.862 You didn't get the word that I brought five hundred 0:04:52.862 --> 0:04:53.782 bottles of water. 0:04:56.222 --> 0:04:58.342 Right around the time the police showed up at the ranch. 0:04:58.422 --> 0:05:02.862 Last year, Kelly, Harper and some others embarked on a 0:05:02.902 --> 0:05:04.142 search for Deer's body. 0:05:04.902 --> 0:05:07.022 Keith you ready. 0:05:07.702 --> 0:05:11.222 I was out of the country, so one of my producers, Jacob, 0:05:11.702 --> 0:05:17.102 tagged along instead. The team was going to search the 0:05:17.142 --> 0:05:20.862 same lake the cops had searched years earlier with their 0:05:20.902 --> 0:05:26.102 sonar equipment and divers, although the FINMI group was focusing 0:05:26.102 --> 0:05:29.702 on the shoreline of the reservoir rather than the murky 0:05:29.782 --> 0:05:34.782 lake bed. And actually this was Harper and Kelly's second 0:05:34.782 --> 0:05:38.542 time going to this particular part of Lake Hemmett. They'd 0:05:38.582 --> 0:05:42.302 gone three months earlier with cadaver dogs and there'd been 0:05:42.422 --> 0:05:49.302 a promising development. The dogs had shown interests. 0:05:47.742 --> 0:05:50.542 Here, and when you have three dogs showing interests in 0:05:50.582 --> 0:05:55.382 this same exact area, then that's telling you something to 0:05:56.102 --> 0:06:01.222 indicate that more than likely there's human remains in this vicinity. 0:06:02.502 --> 0:06:05.422 But it wasn't just the dog's reaction that brought them 0:06:05.462 --> 0:06:10.142 back to this spot. Like I mentioned before, Kelly's network 0:06:10.182 --> 0:06:14.062 of psychics share coordinates of where they thought deer could 0:06:14.102 --> 0:06:17.702 be buried, and this spot in Lake Hemmett was one 0:06:17.742 --> 0:06:22.022 of them, so they felt like this place had potential. 0:06:23.302 --> 0:06:26.542 On the first search, though they couldn't reach the area 0:06:26.582 --> 0:06:28.022 where the dogs showed interest. 0:06:28.462 --> 0:06:31.622 The hall is approximately thirty to forty feet deep and 0:06:31.782 --> 0:06:34.542 at a time, we didn't have the dog's harnesses to 0:06:34.622 --> 0:06:37.382 lower them into the area. This time, we brought our 0:06:37.422 --> 0:06:40.782 boat and we're going to approach the area from the lake, 0:06:41.422 --> 0:06:44.022 and then the dogs can walk easily into the hole 0:06:44.182 --> 0:06:48.982 where we believe that dea abrams remains are either buried 0:06:49.102 --> 0:06:56.782 or somewhere in that vicinity. 0:06:56.822 --> 0:07:00.822 This time around, they approached the spot from two different angles. 0:07:01.462 --> 0:07:04.982 The dogs and their handlers go by boat, Harper, Kelly 0:07:05.182 --> 0:07:09.422 and Jacob go by land, hiking towards the embankment. 0:07:09.222 --> 0:07:09.822 The next one. 0:07:10.222 --> 0:07:13.942 You see where that rod's coming down from the telephone pole. 0:07:14.262 --> 0:07:15.942 Yeah, that's what I was zeroing in on. 0:07:17.022 --> 0:07:20.062 The search team reaches the shore and the dogs do 0:07:20.142 --> 0:07:28.062 their thing. After some time, the dog handler's hike over 0:07:28.142 --> 0:07:31.662 to Harper and Kelly to give them an update. Their 0:07:31.662 --> 0:07:34.822 dog soul detected something. 0:07:35.942 --> 0:07:39.742 Full alert from soul. I got a full alert from sol. 0:07:41.662 --> 0:07:43.822 If you've got a full blown alert, then. 0:07:45.262 --> 0:07:49.062 Then that is a body. 0:07:49.102 --> 0:07:49.622 But there's. 0:07:51.782 --> 0:07:55.542 The cadaver dogs alerted to some kind of human presence. 0:07:56.262 --> 0:07:59.142 But as one of the dog handlers points out, the 0:07:59.222 --> 0:08:02.502 dog could be picking up on anything with a trace 0:08:02.662 --> 0:08:08.342 of what's referred to as human decomposition. Basically the sentences 0:08:08.382 --> 0:08:12.062 emitted by human remains. 0:08:12.742 --> 0:08:16.102 Don't you ass panties, diapers, campons. 0:08:16.222 --> 0:08:20.822 We're all over this lake without digging, there's no way 0:08:20.862 --> 0:08:25.142 to know exactly what's there, and Kelly won't dig without 0:08:25.142 --> 0:08:30.342 the cops present, and so reluctantly they have to stop there. 0:08:31.142 --> 0:08:34.142 Kelly will take note of their coordinates and send them 0:08:34.142 --> 0:08:37.342 over to the cops, hoping they'll return to the site 0:08:37.622 --> 0:08:44.222 and continue the search. Kelly and Harper are disappointed, to 0:08:44.262 --> 0:08:48.422 say the least, and somewhat surprised. They look down the 0:08:48.462 --> 0:08:52.942 embankment towards the lake at a washout of fallen trees 0:08:53.062 --> 0:08:53.702 and debris. 0:08:55.382 --> 0:08:59.902 I would have given money on this spot, though, I 0:08:59.902 --> 0:09:01.622 mean that to me, that's just perfect. 0:09:01.782 --> 0:09:05.702 But see where I would I would do it right 0:09:06.262 --> 0:09:06.982 down in here. 0:09:07.062 --> 0:09:08.142 But how do you get there? 0:09:08.582 --> 0:09:10.022 Well, there's a trail. 0:09:10.302 --> 0:09:13.302 I know there's a trail, but holy shit, you're carrying 0:09:13.302 --> 0:09:14.142 a body, Keith. 0:09:14.862 --> 0:09:17.982 Throughout this search, Kelly has been on and off the 0:09:17.982 --> 0:09:21.862 phone with one of his psychics. She's been advising them 0:09:22.062 --> 0:09:24.582 on where she thinks Dia is buried. 0:09:25.502 --> 0:09:26.342 I would tell her to. 0:09:26.422 --> 0:09:29.302 Summon Stea if she's a better one sea, if she can. 0:09:29.142 --> 0:09:35.182 See us Kelly calls his psychic one last time, just 0:09:35.262 --> 0:09:38.742 in case DIA's given her any extra guidance. 0:09:41.542 --> 0:09:46.422 Pretty much, she said, Dia didn't come to her. 0:09:47.422 --> 0:09:48.422 God damn it. 0:09:50.742 --> 0:09:53.982 Ah she asked her to. And that was what two 0:09:54.062 --> 0:09:57.742 three hours ago. 0:10:01.382 --> 0:10:01.622 Ship. 0:10:04.382 --> 0:10:06.782 I feel ten times more and better if we just 0:10:07.062 --> 0:10:08.742 do without one sch. 0:10:10.822 --> 0:10:15.342 Harper has fixated on one particular spot that the psychics 0:10:15.382 --> 0:10:20.342 pinpointed and that he previously marked with flax. He wants 0:10:20.382 --> 0:10:22.182 the dogs to search it again. 0:10:22.742 --> 0:10:24.942 I just don't want to pass up an opportunity that 0:10:25.182 --> 0:10:26.382 could well. 0:10:26.342 --> 0:10:29.902 Yeah, I understand where you're coming from, but that's not 0:10:29.942 --> 0:10:33.342 where the dog showed interest. That's the only reason I 0:10:33.382 --> 0:10:37.582 would say would discount it. That it would be not 0:10:37.622 --> 0:10:39.262 necessarily a waste of time, But. 0:10:43.862 --> 0:10:47.462 It's just if you have if you have someone a 0:10:47.502 --> 0:10:52.302 psyche telling you that it's in between certain flags and 0:10:52.382 --> 0:10:56.142 it's all in this area, would it hurt to spend 0:10:56.262 --> 0:10:59.582 another hour or two just search in the general area 0:10:59.702 --> 0:11:00.462 one more time? 0:11:00.822 --> 0:11:04.462 But Harper is vetoed, and so the search party and 0:11:04.582 --> 0:11:08.462 Jacob DeCamp back to Benita Vista Ranch to try and 0:11:08.542 --> 0:11:11.182 unpack the and have so much needed lunch. 0:11:13.182 --> 0:11:15.582 Can I get some fricken bread here pretty soon, he's 0:11:15.582 --> 0:11:16.102 working on it. 0:11:16.142 --> 0:11:17.262 Man, dude, calm down. 0:11:18.302 --> 0:11:21.262 One of the dog handlers takes out his phone and 0:11:21.382 --> 0:11:23.902 shows the group a video of the spot where the 0:11:23.942 --> 0:11:26.982 dog alerted. Harper gets agitated. 0:11:28.222 --> 0:11:31.862 Okay, that was that a location of where the body was. 0:11:32.862 --> 0:11:34.542 It was a location of something. 0:11:36.822 --> 0:11:37.022 I do. 0:11:37.022 --> 0:11:39.822 I don't need to hear this, well, need to hear 0:11:40.582 --> 0:11:43.942 more specific. Do we have a location where we believe 0:11:44.022 --> 0:11:44.662 that she is. 0:11:45.782 --> 0:11:48.822 We have a location where we believe something is that's 0:11:48.822 --> 0:11:49.742 putting active. 0:11:49.702 --> 0:11:52.022 Under a bol it's a boulder. 0:11:52.102 --> 0:11:58.462 I cannot say that that is a body and but 0:11:58.662 --> 0:12:01.702 human decom I mean, my dogs are trained to alert 0:12:01.742 --> 0:12:06.582 on a tube, a fragment of a bone, any blood tissue. 0:12:07.022 --> 0:12:10.822 So in your opinion, there's something. 0:12:10.662 --> 0:12:12.822 Something, something putting decomp off. 0:12:13.222 --> 0:12:15.502 Finally, Harper seems to give up. 0:12:16.502 --> 0:12:21.862 So my understanding is that we're going to file a report. 0:12:21.902 --> 0:12:24.422 We're not going back out right. We're done. 0:12:24.622 --> 0:12:27.062 I don't think there's much we can do in that area. 0:12:27.142 --> 0:12:30.022 I mean that we haven't already covered, unless we've got 0:12:30.102 --> 0:12:31.062 new areas to search. 0:12:34.862 --> 0:12:37.822 I debriefed with Kelly a few months after the search. 0:12:38.542 --> 0:12:41.382 He was still confident that deer is buried in that 0:12:41.462 --> 0:12:45.982 lake Hemett's spot where the dog alerted. He tells me 0:12:46.142 --> 0:12:49.462 he sent a second report to the Riverside Sheriff's Department. 0:12:50.182 --> 0:12:53.302 But as far as I know, they've not taken any action. 0:12:54.062 --> 0:12:57.822 They have not gone back to search for our dogs, 0:12:57.822 --> 0:13:02.302 who incidentally, never, never, never mist say that there's something 0:13:02.382 --> 0:13:06.062 human where they alerted two of our dogs, our best dogs, 0:13:06.982 --> 0:13:09.102 And as far as we know, they have not gone there. 0:13:16.062 --> 0:13:21.382 As I say these words, Dea is still missing. We 0:13:21.462 --> 0:13:26.422 can't even say whether she's dead or alive. It's easy 0:13:26.502 --> 0:13:29.422 to get caught up in the chaos of DEA's story, 0:13:30.022 --> 0:13:33.422 people turning on each other, wild theories that are almost 0:13:33.502 --> 0:13:38.542 too wild to believe. There is, after all, a special 0:13:38.662 --> 0:13:42.102 kind of ugliness that rears its head when money's involved. 0:13:45.182 --> 0:13:47.662 But I keep coming back to the fact that at 0:13:47.702 --> 0:13:50.742 the center of all of this is a woman who 0:13:50.782 --> 0:13:54.702 one day in twenty twenty just suddenly disappeared from her 0:13:54.742 --> 0:13:59.062 own home. One moment she was there, the next moment 0:13:59.222 --> 0:14:04.262 she was not. And that, regardless of who, or how 0:14:04.462 --> 0:14:11.182 or why, is truly heartbreaking. For now, all that remains 0:14:11.462 --> 0:14:14.422 is a group of people racing to find out the 0:14:14.502 --> 0:14:18.502 truth in their own way, racing against the clock as 0:14:18.582 --> 0:14:26.822 one very important date swiftly approaches. More on that after 0:14:26.862 --> 0:14:50.222 the break in the background of all of these searches 0:14:50.382 --> 0:14:55.302 and theories, a date is fast looming. Sixth of June 0:14:55.702 --> 0:15:00.062 twenty twenty five. That's the day the Deer will be 0:15:00.102 --> 0:15:04.702 declared dead. Her estate will be split up fifty percent 0:15:04.742 --> 0:15:08.422 to Harper, twenty five percent to Clinton, and twenty five 0:15:08.422 --> 0:15:13.862 percent cross her daughter. It's hard to imagine that the 0:15:13.942 --> 0:15:17.902 date isn't on everyone's mind like some ticking time bomb, 0:15:18.862 --> 0:15:21.462 because if any of those three are found to be 0:15:21.542 --> 0:15:31.942 involved in Deer's disappearance, they get nothing. While Harper search 0:15:32.062 --> 0:15:38.182 with dogs and psychics, Clinton focused on tactics. He pushed 0:15:38.222 --> 0:15:41.902 for some of Deer's property to be liquidated, and with 0:15:42.102 --> 0:15:46.782 those funds, the court appointed guardian who represents Deer's estate 0:15:47.502 --> 0:15:52.542 set up a tip hotline and a three hundred thousand 0:15:52.582 --> 0:15:57.142 dollars reward was established for anyone with information leading to 0:15:57.182 --> 0:16:02.142 an arrest and conviction or the discovery of Deer's whereabouts. 0:16:03.702 --> 0:16:09.182 But this wasn't just any old reward, oh No, this, 0:16:09.342 --> 0:16:13.182 as Clinton explained to me, was a trap for Harper. 0:16:20.102 --> 0:16:24.142 Well, the way I structured it was that the reward 0:16:24.262 --> 0:16:26.862 was going to be the bait and it would be 0:16:27.942 --> 0:16:31.062 made manifest that he was involved in my mother's disappearance, 0:16:31.822 --> 0:16:34.462 and he wouldn't get anything, and we'd have the case 0:16:34.502 --> 0:16:36.062 solved and we'd have him removed. 0:16:36.982 --> 0:16:40.822 Right. So was it your idea then, to because there's 0:16:40.862 --> 0:16:46.222 that really interesting caveat where if one party is found 0:16:46.222 --> 0:16:49.902 to have an involvement, everything goes to the other party. 0:16:50.062 --> 0:16:51.022 Was that your suggestion? 0:16:51.462 --> 0:16:51.662 Yeah? 0:16:51.702 --> 0:16:52.062 That was me. 0:16:53.182 --> 0:16:55.182 Oh wow, Okay. 0:16:55.182 --> 0:16:57.582 That was my little trap strategy. 0:16:58.542 --> 0:17:03.622 But it backfired. Despite his efforts, Clinton has never been 0:17:03.662 --> 0:17:06.982 able to pin anything on Harper, and now Harper is 0:17:06.982 --> 0:17:09.782 in Lyne to get fifty percent of his mother estate. 0:17:10.782 --> 0:17:14.302 It was a gamble, Clinton admits, and now he regrets it. 0:17:14.902 --> 0:17:16.662 He gambled too much. 0:17:17.262 --> 0:17:21.702 Ah, and I couldn't believe that I compromised with Yeah 0:17:21.862 --> 0:17:22.342 the devil. 0:17:26.302 --> 0:17:30.502 When that little trap didn't work, Clinton tried something else. 0:17:31.102 --> 0:17:35.902 He attempted to work with Harper directly. Harper sent me 0:17:35.942 --> 0:17:39.822 a screenshot of their conversation, and this is what Clinton 0:17:39.902 --> 0:17:45.302 texted him. Harper, you want to deal. What is the deal? Clinton? 0:17:46.382 --> 0:17:48.702 I want you to flip on all the others. I 0:17:48.742 --> 0:17:52.422 can get you off free. This can't stay secret. Forever 0:17:52.982 --> 0:17:56.342 you are getting older. I'm not after you for anything 0:17:56.382 --> 0:17:59.782 related to Dea. We can work out finances so you 0:17:59.822 --> 0:18:03.022 are happy if you have real information on what happened 0:18:03.022 --> 0:18:08.702 to Dea. I just want to know. I was definitely 0:18:08.782 --> 0:18:12.502 quite It felt like a pretty brazen move from Clinton. 0:18:18.062 --> 0:18:19.582 Why do you think he's saying that. 0:18:23.302 --> 0:18:24.102 This is what? 0:18:24.702 --> 0:18:24.942 You know? 0:18:25.422 --> 0:18:30.262 I thought originally he was asking to kind of work together. 0:18:32.662 --> 0:18:39.062 And then what I got the more I got into it, 0:18:41.782 --> 0:18:50.822 what he's asking it's for me to come forward and 0:18:50.822 --> 0:18:56.302 and kind of tell him that I'm responsible, and then 0:18:57.222 --> 0:18:58.182 he has something to. 0:18:58.182 --> 0:19:02.262 Go back to law enforcement with. You know, It's what 0:19:02.502 --> 0:19:03.782 I kind of got. 0:19:05.382 --> 0:19:07.982 Clinton insists that he was just trying to get information 0:19:08.142 --> 0:19:12.102 out of Harper. Either way, Harper does not fall for 0:19:12.142 --> 0:19:16.262 Clinton's booby trap. It all feels like a strange loop, 0:19:16.822 --> 0:19:22.102 but it's almost satisfying. These two sides who've been at 0:19:22.142 --> 0:19:25.662 war trying to pin the blame, okay, still trying to 0:19:25.702 --> 0:19:28.942 pin the blame on each other, coming together to try 0:19:29.022 --> 0:19:33.622 to work out some kind of deal. Despite all of 0:19:33.662 --> 0:19:39.262 Clinton's strategizing, nothing really seems to happen to Harper until 0:19:39.982 --> 0:19:43.942 in November twenty twenty three, the same month. As Kelly's search, 0:19:44.742 --> 0:19:48.822 Harper ends up getting into hot water all by himself. 0:19:49.662 --> 0:19:55.342 He gets himself kicked off the ranch. Harper tects a 0:19:55.382 --> 0:19:59.702 real estate agent, asking if she's interested in listing the 0:19:59.822 --> 0:20:03.622 ranch for sale. Word gets out that Harper is trying 0:20:03.662 --> 0:20:06.622 to sell DIA's ranch, even though he doesn't have the 0:20:06.702 --> 0:20:11.942 authority to do so. Five days later, a judge removes 0:20:11.982 --> 0:20:20.222 Harper as trustee of DEA's estate just like that. Later 0:20:20.302 --> 0:20:25.782 that month, eviction notices are posted outside the ranch. It 0:20:25.822 --> 0:20:31.742 seems Harper's time a Benita Vista is up. He denies 0:20:31.822 --> 0:20:35.742 trying to sell the ranch and considers fighting the decision. 0:20:37.942 --> 0:20:41.982 The purpose was determine the value? What is the value 0:20:42.142 --> 0:20:49.102 finally of the property and anyway to judge the spook 0:20:49.222 --> 0:20:51.502 He said, yeah, it looks like you weren't tending the 0:20:51.542 --> 0:20:56.462 list it And I said, no, I was not, And anyway, 0:20:57.102 --> 0:20:59.742 that's how I got removed from trustee. 0:21:00.862 --> 0:21:06.062 Eventually, Harper packs his bags and leaves. Even though he's 0:21:06.102 --> 0:21:09.742 removed as trustee, it doesn't affect him potentially getting half 0:21:09.822 --> 0:21:14.462 of Deer's assets. I call him as he once more 0:21:14.662 --> 0:21:18.742 is doing that long long drive from Idlewild across the 0:21:18.782 --> 0:21:21.422 deserts of Arizona into New Mexico. 0:21:23.222 --> 0:21:24.582 I left the lands today. 0:21:25.422 --> 0:21:27.942 Wow, how does that feel? 0:21:28.302 --> 0:21:32.462 You know, to deal with the tough, tough, tough thing. 0:21:33.222 --> 0:21:34.942 But the situation you. 0:21:35.022 --> 0:21:38.462 Get either you work with the court or you work 0:21:38.502 --> 0:21:43.142 against them, and they can they can take away all 0:21:43.182 --> 0:21:51.942 your privileges, you know. Oh, after long consideration, can't. Some time, 0:21:53.142 --> 0:21:57.582 I decided to leave. And so my concern is this 0:21:58.742 --> 0:22:05.222 that if I'm gone, they will never work at finding her. 0:22:08.662 --> 0:22:12.742 I keep imagining Benita Vista Ranch now that Harper's gone, 0:22:13.902 --> 0:22:20.382 those impressive Western style gates locked and chained shut, deers 0:22:20.422 --> 0:22:26.622 antiques gathering dust, the endless land stretching towards the mountains, 0:22:26.662 --> 0:22:30.982 slowly growing wild. I wonder how Dea would have felt 0:22:31.702 --> 0:22:38.142 her pride and joy, her home sitting empty. Soon it 0:22:38.142 --> 0:22:40.982 could be sold to some stranger who will probably fit 0:22:41.022 --> 0:22:44.502 it out in that modern dude ranch style, and every 0:22:44.582 --> 0:22:50.262 trace of Deer will be gone. But what happens to 0:22:50.302 --> 0:22:54.342 the people in her life, what happens to that vacuum 0:22:54.382 --> 0:23:26.742 she left behind, will be right back in some way 0:23:26.822 --> 0:23:30.462 or another. DEA's disappearance has shaped the life of everyone 0:23:30.542 --> 0:23:35.422 in this podcast, including mine. As I wound down my reporting, 0:23:36.342 --> 0:23:39.142 it felt right to touch base with them all, to 0:23:39.182 --> 0:23:42.582 see how they were moving on, how they were finding closure. 0:23:44.502 --> 0:23:47.622 I'll start with the one silver lining I found in 0:23:47.702 --> 0:23:53.102 all this mess. DEA's siblings Peggy and Jim had told 0:23:53.142 --> 0:23:56.182 me how much they missed their niece and nephew, Chrissara 0:23:56.182 --> 0:24:00.142 and Clinton, how sad they were that their family was estranged. 0:24:01.422 --> 0:24:04.622 And so I spoke to Clinton and I suggested perhaps 0:24:04.742 --> 0:24:07.222 he might want to reconnect with his aunt and uncle, 0:24:08.102 --> 0:24:11.022 given that his father was dead and his mother was 0:24:11.062 --> 0:24:14.862 still missing. Eventually he gave them a call. 0:24:15.702 --> 0:24:16.902 It was unbelievable. 0:24:17.102 --> 0:24:21.382 It was unbelievable seeing just to see our our nephew. 0:24:22.182 --> 0:24:24.702 This is Peggy Kenchlo dear sister. 0:24:25.062 --> 0:24:28.582 And if any anything came out of this tragedy, it's 0:24:28.662 --> 0:24:31.662 this that we have. That we have our nephew back. 0:24:32.022 --> 0:24:34.902 We have him, we have him back. He's our kid. 0:24:35.422 --> 0:24:38.582 You know, I'm sorry about whatever horrible thing happened to 0:24:38.662 --> 0:24:41.822 my sister. I am, but we have my nephew back. 0:24:42.902 --> 0:24:46.862 Peggy's trying hard to move on despite the toll it's 0:24:46.862 --> 0:24:48.582 taken on her and her family. 0:24:49.182 --> 0:24:52.822 It's an emotional Katrina, you know it came in it 0:24:52.982 --> 0:24:59.942 washed everything out. 0:25:02.182 --> 0:25:04.982 She's not the only one who felt like things fell 0:25:05.022 --> 0:25:06.782 apart when dear disappeared. 0:25:07.422 --> 0:25:12.222 It's been a four years of NonStop obsession of the 0:25:12.302 --> 0:25:18.742 mind and the gravitational pull that I cannot seem to 0:25:18.862 --> 0:25:20.502 extricate myself. 0:25:20.102 --> 0:25:23.542 From no matter how hard I try. I just have to. 0:25:25.102 --> 0:25:27.382 Have to do something to always try and move the 0:25:27.382 --> 0:25:28.062 ball forward. 0:25:29.542 --> 0:25:33.782 Thanks to his years of research, Clinton's developed a theory 0:25:34.102 --> 0:25:37.342 about Harper and about what happened to his mother. 0:25:38.022 --> 0:25:44.582 To me, he's pulpable, he's guilty, but he's also serves 0:25:44.662 --> 0:25:49.262 as the patsy, as the fall guy and its low 0:25:49.342 --> 0:25:53.542 hanging fruit. He's the easy, easy guy to pin this on. 0:25:54.662 --> 0:25:57.182 And I think there are so many other people involved 0:25:57.262 --> 0:26:01.862 and so many other people who know. And I think 0:26:01.902 --> 0:26:05.262 as long as law enforcement doesn't pursue those other angles 0:26:05.462 --> 0:26:10.222 and ask, you know, deeper questions, I don't they'll ever 0:26:10.262 --> 0:26:10.942 solve the case. 0:26:12.342 --> 0:26:15.622 Clinton doesn't believe that Harper is solely to blame for 0:26:15.702 --> 0:26:16.822 DEA's disappearance. 0:26:17.622 --> 0:26:20.582 Yeah, I don't give too much credit to Keith Harper. 0:26:20.702 --> 0:26:22.942 I don't think he's a criminal mastermind. I think he 0:26:23.022 --> 0:26:23.622 did buffoon. 0:26:24.942 --> 0:26:28.902 I think focusing too much on him, it just it's 0:26:28.982 --> 0:26:30.622 just too narrow of the perspective. 0:26:35.742 --> 0:26:40.782 His theory is that a motorcycle gang took Dear, an underground, 0:26:40.942 --> 0:26:46.502 sinister intelligence operation that has access to high tech surveillance equipment. 0:26:47.462 --> 0:26:53.302 He believes Harper struck a deal with this gang. Let's 0:26:53.302 --> 0:26:56.542 go with your theory for a minute. If she's kidnapped 0:26:56.582 --> 0:27:03.022 and she's killed by somebody who isn't Harper, what is 0:27:03.062 --> 0:27:05.142 the motive, Like, what are they getting out of it? 0:27:08.302 --> 0:27:11.102 They're getting one hundred and fifteen acre ranch. 0:27:12.862 --> 0:27:18.982 And millions of dollars in antiques, jewelry, and I think 0:27:19.022 --> 0:27:21.702 the actual property was desired. I think there was a 0:27:21.862 --> 0:27:25.062 I think there was a deal amongst multiple people to. 0:27:26.822 --> 0:27:29.062 Split the spoils of war, so to speak. 0:27:30.022 --> 0:27:33.142 Clinton believes this gang would be able to access DearS 0:27:33.262 --> 0:27:38.102 assets through Harper, but there is of course no evidence 0:27:38.182 --> 0:27:49.502 to prove this. When I first interviewed Clinton, we met 0:27:49.502 --> 0:27:52.862 in San Diego, out in the open at a coffee shop, 0:27:53.582 --> 0:27:56.382 but that's the last time we met face to face 0:27:57.542 --> 0:28:02.742 Since his mother disappeared. He seems to have become increasingly paranoid, 0:28:03.382 --> 0:28:07.382 sending me hundreds of emails with what he says is 0:28:07.462 --> 0:28:12.422 evidence he's being Heraz he's convinced his house is bugged, 0:28:12.982 --> 0:28:16.382 that he's under surveillance by this gang who killed Dia. 0:28:17.542 --> 0:28:20.502 I've received a tremendous amount of harassment. Well, I've had 0:28:20.782 --> 0:28:27.542 buried pornography left on my mailbox. I've received unmarked packages 0:28:27.702 --> 0:28:35.022 that contain very obscure threats and also direct threats. I've 0:28:35.062 --> 0:28:40.222 had loud motorcycles that have basically, you know, kind of 0:28:40.262 --> 0:28:45.462 followed me and stocked me for a number of years. 0:28:45.942 --> 0:28:49.902 Clinton is adamant that the same people who killed his 0:28:49.942 --> 0:28:51.982 mother are out to get him. 0:28:52.942 --> 0:28:56.262 I believe it was, you know, a message to me, 0:28:56.622 --> 0:28:59.102 you know, we can get to you too, And I 0:28:59.142 --> 0:29:03.022 truly understand that it, you know, sounds crazy to most people. 0:29:06.502 --> 0:29:10.182 I don't know whether Clinton is paranoid or if he 0:29:10.302 --> 0:29:14.302 is truly being harassed by some kind of gang. But 0:29:15.022 --> 0:29:19.462 he was sent this really crazy package. I've seen pictures 0:29:19.462 --> 0:29:23.502 of it. The envelope didn't have proper postage, so it 0:29:23.582 --> 0:29:28.822 was likely hand delivered. On the front, it said important 0:29:28.822 --> 0:29:34.422 information about Lydia Kenschloe Abrams. There were all these court 0:29:34.462 --> 0:29:40.382 documents inside about rich people who disappeared in mysterious circumstances 0:29:40.942 --> 0:29:45.022