A bank manager has found the second-largest diamond in the 48-year history of Crater of Diamonds State Park.
Kevin Kinard of Maumelle found the 9.07-carat diamond on Labor Day, according to a news release from Arkansas State Parks.
Kinard said he was walking up and down the plowed rows, picking up anything that looked like a crystal.
He found a marble-sized crystal that had a rounded, dimpled shape, according to the news release.
"It kind of looked interesting and shiny, so I put it in my bag and kept searching," said Kinard. "I just thought it might've been glass."
After a few hours of searching, Kinard and his friends stopped by the park's Diamond Discovery Center, where park staff identify visitor finds and register diamonds.
"I almost didn't have them check my finds, because I didn't think I had found anything," said Kinard. "My friend had hers checked, though, so I went ahead and had them check mine, too."
An employee told Kinard he had discovered a diamond weighing more than nine carats.
"I honestly teared up when they told me," said Kinard. "I was in complete shock!"
Located at Murfreesboro in Pike County, Crater of Diamonds became a state park in 1972.
"The only larger diamond found during that time is the 16.37-carat white Amarillo Starlight, discovered in August 1975," according to the news release.
"Mr. Kinard's diamond is very large, with a brandy brown color," said Dru Edmonds, assistant park supervisor. "It has a rounded, dewdrop shape and a metallic shine typical of all Crater diamonds."
The three colors of diamonds found at Crater of Diamonds State Park are white, brown, and yellow, in that order.
Kinard has visited the Crater of Diamonds fairly regularly since first going there on a second-grade field trip, according to the release. But he had never found a diamond before Labor Day.
According to Arkansas State Parks, 246 diamonds have been registered at Crater of Diamonds State Park in 2020, weighing a total of 59.25 carats. An average of one to two diamonds are found by park visitors each day.
In total, over 75,000 diamonds have been unearthed at the Crater of Diamonds since the first diamonds were discovered there in 1906, according to Arkansas State Parks.
"The largest diamond ever discovered in the United States was unearthed here in 1924 during an early mining operation," according to the news release. "Named the Uncle Sam, this white diamond with a pink cast weighed 40.23 carats. It was later cut into a 12.42-carat emerald shape and purchased by a private collector for $150,000 in 1971."
Arkansas State Parks is a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism.