A heartbroken Pennsylvania woman, grieving the deaths of her son and father, has found a 3.09 carat diamond during a visit to the Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Keshia Smith traveled to the Arkansas park last month, discovering the 3.09 carat white diamond as she was digging in the south side of the park’s 37-acre search area, according to reports.
“I have felt so much pressure the last six months. In October, I lost my son, and we just buried my dad a week ago. It has been a lot!” Smith said in a statement. “I really needed this. I really prayed for this, and I just can’t believe it actually happened!”
Smith had planned her trip to the Crater of Diamonds more than a year ago with her boyfriend Joey and brother Kirim, according to news outlet KAIT. She arrived at the park on April 21 and found the gem on the second day of her trip.
Park staff later confirmed Smith had indeed found a diamond and detailed the gem’s size and color.
“To me it looks like a heart. That’s the first thing I saw when I found it,” Smith said, per KAIT.
A 3.09 carat round diamond can range in price from $12,588 to $95,339, depending on factors such as the gem’s color and clarity, according to diamond comparison site StoneAlgo.
Smith named her diamond the Za’Novia Liberty Diamond, in honor of her grandchildren and America’s 250th birthday this year, according to a Facebook announcement from Arkansas State Parks.
“Moments like this remind us why Crater of Diamonds State Park is such a special place,” the post read.
Facebook users congratulated Smith on her rare find.
“Congratulations!! I was there the day you found it,” one user wrote.
Another said, “How awesome! Sorry for your losses! And it almost looks like a heart! (Sign from heaven!).”
“Beautiful diamond congratulations,” a third commented.
As of January, more than 37,377 diamonds have been discovered by visitors since the Crater of Diamonds became an Arkansas state park in 1972. The 40.23 carat “Uncle Sam,” the largest diamond ever unearthed on U.S. soil, was found at the Crater of Diamonds.
