John McCarthy
LITTLE ROCK (MN) — A visitor from Minnesota had just entered the Arkansas’ Crater of Diamonds State Park when he spotted a “metallic, tinfoil-like shine” on the ground.
David DeCook thought the shiny object on April 21 was a candy wrapper, but the item, which was smaller than a quarter, gleamed back at him.
He knew he had discovered a diamond, but this one was much larger than those he had found in the past, he told Arkansas State Parks in a May 1 news release. This 3.81-carat brown diamond was the largest find in the park so far this year.
The 3.81-carat diamond has a “metallic, copper luster and a blocky, triangular shape,” the park said. (Photo by Arkansas State Parks)
When the shine caught his eye, he “calmly” went to pick up the diamond to inspect it. Then, he called his brother.
“Oh, you’re going to be mad once you see what I found!” DeCook told his brother, fueling some “sibling rivalry,” according to the park.
The diamond — named “The Duke Diamond” by its finder — has a “metallic, copper luster and a blocky, triangular shape,” park officials said. The big find came as the park recorded a rain-heavy month, park officials said.
“Many of the park’s largest diamonds are found on top of the ground,” assistant park supervisor Waymon Cox said in the release. “As rain falls in the search area, it washes away the dirt and uncovers heavy rocks, minerals, and diamonds near the surface.”
The park received almost an inch of rain the day before DeCook visited, according to officials.
Over 200 diamonds have been found and registered at the park in 2025, but just five have weighed more than a carat, officials said.
DeCook’s diamond is the largest find since January 2024 when a visitor from France found a 7.46-carat diamond.
Crater of Diamonds State Park is in Murfreesboro, which is about a 110-mile drive southwest from Little Rock.
By KATE LINDERMAN/McClatchy News
Kate Linderman covers national news for McClatchy’s real-time team. She reports on politics and crime and courts news in the Midwest. Kate is a 2023 graduate of DePaul University and is based in Chicago.
