It is the ultimate finder's keepers story.
An Arkansas man stumbled upon an unexpected piece of treasure inside a state park when he found a 3.29-carat diamond earlier this month, according to the State Parks of Arkansas.
David Anderson of Murfreesboro, Ark., found the diamond while wet-sifting soil in Crater of Diamonds State Park's 37.5-acre diamond search area, the park said in a statement released last Tuesday.
"At first I thought it was quartz but wondered why it was so shiny," he said in the release. "Once I picked it up, I realized it was a diamond!"
The State Parks Dept. is calling the diamond “BUD” as in “Big, Ugly Diamond,” according to their Facebook page where they posted images of the rock as well as Anderson holding it.
“Mr. Anderson’s diamond is about the size of an English pea, with a light brown color and octahedron shape,” park interpreter Tayler Markham said in a statement. “It has a metallic shine typical of all diamonds found at the park, with a partially resorbed surface and lots of inclusions.”
It remains unclear how much Anderson's discovery is worth.
Crater of Diamonds State Park, once a farm owned by John Huddleston, has a storied history of diamond discoveries, with over 75,000 discoveries since 1906, People reported.
The Parks Dept. says that diamonds come in various colors, the most common colors found at the park being white, brown, and yellow, in that order.
More than 120 diamonds have been reported at Crater of Diamonds State Park this year. Visitors can typically expect to find one to two diamonds per day, the Parks Dept. said.
Anderson, who has been frequenting the area for nearly 20 years, first learned about Crater of Diamonds State Park while watching the Travel Channel in 2007.
He said in the press release, “My first trip here was in 2007. After I found my first diamond, a 1.5-carat white, I was hooked!”
Anderson has found more than 400 diamonds over the past 16 years, including 15 weighing over one carat. The Parks Dept. says his other top finds include a 3.83-carat yellow diamond found in December 2011 and a 6.19-carat white gem discovered in April 2014.
