MURFREESBORO, Ark. (KFSM) — After searching for treasures at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, one woman walked away with a 3.29-carat diamond.
According to a press release, Pat Choate and her husband made the two-hour drive from Jacksonville, Arkansas to hunt for diamonds.
Over the years, the couple has visited Arkansas’ diamond site several times and have found five diamonds, but Choate made her biggest discover yet on Tuesday (Oct. 22) when she found the 3.29-carat gem.
“Each time Pat and I see the road sign for the Crater of Diamonds while driving to the park, we always tell each other, ‘Let’s be like some of these other tourists and find a diamond within 30 minutes.’ We’ve been saying that for years, but this time it actually happened to us,” John Choate said.
The couple entered the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area around 2 p.m.
Pat had been surface searching on Canary Hill, in the southwest part of the search area, for about 30 minutes when she made her find.
“I saw something shiny several feet ahead of me and walked over to see what it was. I lost sight of it when I got close, but then I turned around I found the diamond lying beside me,” Pat said.
According to the park’s Assistant Superintendent Meghan Moore, the diamond is about the size of a chickpea and like many diamonds from the park, it appears to be fractured and contains a few inclusions, giving it a unique appearance.
Choate’s gem is the third-largest diamond found at the park in 2019 so far.
It is the largest brown gem found at the park in more than two years, since a teenager from Centerton discovered a 7.44-carat brown diamond in March 2017.
Many people choose to name the diamonds they find at Crater of Diamonds State Park, and Pat named her’s Illusive Dream, saying “It has been a long time coming, a lot of dirt, and many years of searching—and I thank the good Lord for it! I know it’s not a perfect diamond, but it sure is a thrill.”
Pat’s plans for the diamond are not known at this time.
As of Oct. 24, 426 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2019, weighing more than 84 carats.; 15 diamonds registered this year have weighed at least one carat each.
