Jul 26, 2008 11:54 am US/Eastern
9-Year-Old Boy Finds 2.75-Carat Diamond At Park
MURFREESBORO, Ark. (CBS) ―
A 9-year-old boy is the owner of a nearly 3-carat diamond.
Matthew Smith was on his way home from camp in Arkansas when his family decided to stop and take a walk in a park. The stop paid off in a big way.
Of course, it helped that the park was Crater of Diamonds State Park. Approximately 1,000 diamonds are found there each year. That averages out to about three diamonds found every day. The largest one ever found was nearly 17 carats.
"We stopped there because my nephew loves rocks," Smith's mother said.
"I found a diamond like, 10 minutes into searching," said Smith. "It was on a path and I was just walking and I saw something sparkle, and I picked it up."
"He brought it to me first and said, 'I think I got something,'" said Smith's mother. "I said, 'That's a pretty brown rock, just throw it in your bucket and let's keep searching.' I didn't think it was a diamond."
The boy's mother continued, "It sat in the bucket, in fact, he even left the bucket just sitting unattended for about an hour."
The park confirmed that Smith had officially found a diamond. "When we got in there, they said it's a 2.75 carat diamond," Smith's mother said. "We were all shocked."
Park policy says that anything you find, you keep. So, what does Smith plan to do with the rock? "I'll keep it as a souvenir," he said.
"Maybe give it to a wife someday," added his mother.
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