4.49-Carat Diamond Found at Crater of Diamonds State Park

Here's a Halloween that turned all lovely and sparkly. Over the weekend someone found the third-largest diamond this year at Crater of Diamonds State Park. 

Steven McCool of Fayetteville, Ark., was thinking about leaving the park but then decided to stay because of a recent rain at Crater of Diamonds State Park. That turned out to be a very, very good call because that's when the 34-year-old found the 4.49-carat diamond.

“Arkansas is the only state in the country that has a diamond mine open to the public,”  said Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism Secretary Stacy Hurst said in a press release. “While many diamonds are found every year, it never ceases to be exciting! I hope Mr. McCool’s story inspires even more people to visit Crater of Diamonds State Park.”

He was wet sifting, or sifting dirt using screens and water, his 11^th bucket of the day. His hands were soaked through his gloves and the water was ice cold. Time was ticking down, and the park was closing in about 30 minutes.

“As my eyes were panning to it, I was thinking it could be an amber piece of glass like an old Coke bottle,” McCool said. “Once I focused on it though, I knew it was a diamond. I was like ‘No way! No way!’”