While Grieving Family Members, She Made a Huge Find

A trip to an Arkansas state park turned into something far more memorable for a Pennsylvania woman than just a fun visit. Arkansas State Parks says Keshia Smith recently uncovered a 3.09-carat white diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, describing the find as an unexpected bright spot as she grieves the deaths of her son and father, per CBS News. It's a discovery that Smith calls "meant to be." "In October, I lost my son, and we just buried my dad a week ago. It has been a lot," she tells KAIT. "I really needed this. I really prayed for this, and I just can't believe it actually happened."

Smith named the stone found on April 21, which she says resembles a heart, the "Za'Novia Liberty Diamond," with the name honoring her grandchildren and the 250th anniversary of the United States. Photos show a flat, smooth, colorless gem that's about as big as a bead. Crater of Diamonds bills itself as the only public site where people can search for diamonds in their original volcanic setting and keep what they discover, per CBS. Since it became a state park in 1972, visitors have turned up more than 37,000 diamonds, per the park's online portal. The site also produced the largest diamond ever found in the US, the 40.23-carat "Uncle Sam," in 1924.