‘FINDERS, KEEPERS’: Woman discovers 2.3-carat ‘diamond-y diamond’ in Arkansas park

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A determined woman on the hunt for diamonds at an Arkansas state park hit the jackpot on her last day there.

Micherre Fox, 31, spent weeks at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Pike County last month, with the aim of finding the perfect rock for her future engagement ring, Arkansas State Parks (ASP) said in a press release.

While Fox wasn’t engaged at the time, her partner agreed to hold off proposing, knowing she wanted to uncover her own diamond — something she began researching about two years ago, according to ASP.

Fox prepared for two weeks before beginning her hunt on July 8 during a month-long break after finishing graduate school.

“I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen,” Fox said.

“I researched, and it turned out that the only place in the world to do it was right in our backyard, in Arkansas!”

Crater of Diamonds is one of the only diamond-producing sites in the world where the public can search for diamonds in their original volcanic source, the website notes.

Their policy is as straightforward as it gets: “‘Finders, keepers,’ meaning the diamonds you find are yours to keep.”

Fox explained about her decision: “There’s something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage. You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work.”

Fox spent a total of three weeks at the park but it was on July 29, her last day there, that she encountered something shiny at her feet while walking along the West Drain, part of the 37.5-acre diamond search area.

The woman nudged it with her boot, thinking it was a spider web, but the shine remained — so she picked it up.

“Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn’t know for sure, but it was the most ‘diamond-y diamond’ I had seen,” she recalled.

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The park’s Diamond Discover Center confirmed it was a white diamond about the size of a human canine tooth.

“I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,” Fox said, noting that she got to name the gem, calling it the Fox-Ballou Diamond after her and her partner’s surnames.

“After all the research, there’s luck and there’s hard work,” she said.

“When you are literally picking up the dirt in your hands, no amount of research can do that for you; no amount of education can take you all the way,” Fox added. “It was daunting.”

So far this year, 366 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds, with 11 weighing more than one carat, according to the park.

The 2.3-carat stone Fox found marks the third-largest found in the park this year.