Recently, David DeCook from Minnesota, along with his family, visited the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas for a treasure hunt and fortunate enough, they discovered a 3.81-carat brown diamond, marking the largest diamond found in the park this year.
According to a press release from the Crater of Diamonds State Park, David and his brother Derek have been regular visitors to the park for many years and have found several diamonds in the past, but this brown diamond is the largest one they have found so far.
On an early morning of April 21st, the brothers set out from their hometown of Stewartville, Minnesota, to try their luck at the park once again. They headed straight to the 37.5-acre diamond search area within the park to begin their treasure-hunting journey. After about an hour of searching yielded no results, David walked down a small hill south of the washing pavilion and made an extraordinary discovery.
He recalled initially thinking it was just a shiny candy wrapper lying on the ground, but upon seeing its tin foil-like metallic luster, he immediately realized he had found something special.
David calmly approached, picked it up, examined it carefully, and called his brother over. With a hint of teasing in his tone, he said to Derek, “Hey, once you see what I found, you’ll be crazy jealous.”
The brothers returned home with the diamond on the same day. A few days later, David brought the diamond back to the park for professional appraisal and registration. It was confirmed to be a 3.81-carat brown diamond, with a triangular blocky shape and a bronze-like metallic luster.
Following the park’s tradition of “finders keepers,” the diamond belongs to David, who decided to name it “Duke Diamond” after his beloved dog. He mentioned that he has not yet decided on how to proceed with it.
According to the press release, the park had experienced heavy rainfall the day before David’s visit, which likely made it easier for him to discover the diamond on the surface.
“In April, the park had a lot of rain, with accumulations over 12 inches (304.8 millimeters),” remarked park superintendent Waymon Cox. “Many larger diamonds in the park are found on the surface. When rain falls on the ground, it washes away the mud, revealing heavy rocks, minerals, and diamonds on the surface.”
The diamond is the largest registered at the park since January 2024, when French visitor Julien Navas found a 7.46-carat “Carine Diamond.” Additionally, it marks the 217th diamond registered within the park this year.
The Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas is the world’s only public diamond-bearing site. Since 1906, it has yielded over 75,000 diamonds, with an average of 1 to 2 found daily now. Visitors can rent mining and screening tools for treasure hunting, and are allowed to keep the diamonds they find. The park also provides free appraisal services.
(Note: English Epoch Times reporter Michael Wing contributed to this article.)