For Pennsylvania resident Keshia Smith, a long-planned trip to Arkansas’ famed Crater of Diamonds State Park became something far more meaningful than a gemstone hunt. Just weeks after burying her father — and months after losing her son — Smith unearthed a shimmering 3.09-carat white diamond that she now sees as a symbol of hope during one of the most difficult periods of her life.
Smith made the late-April journey to Murfreesboro, AR, with her brother Kirim and her boyfriend Joey after spending more than a year researching the park and connecting online with experienced diamond hunters. The destination was special from the start: Crater of Diamonds State Park is the only public diamond-producing site in the world where visitors can search for diamonds and keep whatever they find.
But the trip took on deeper emotional significance after tragedy struck her family.
“I have felt so much pressure the last six months,” Smith told park officials. “In October I lost my son, and we just buried my dad a week ago. It has been a lot. I really needed this. I really prayed for this, and I just can’t believe it actually happened!”
Smith arrived at the park on April 21 and spent her first day meeting fellow prospectors and learning the lay of the land. The following morning, she returned to the park’s 37.5-acre search field near a historical marker commemorating John Huddleston’s 1906 discovery of the first diamonds in Arkansas.
Digging along the south end of the search area, Smith noticed the soil color change from brown to black — often a promising sign in the eroded volcanic crater. Moments later, she spotted a shiny crystal in her shovel.
She slipped the stone into her bag and continued digging before showing it to nearby visitors, who urged her to have it examined by park staff. Later that day, experts at the park’s Diamond Discovery Center confirmed that Smith had indeed found a genuine 3.09-carat white diamond — the second-largest diamond registered at the park so far in 2026.
The gem, roughly the size of a bead, features a smooth, flat appearance with a few distinctive inclusions around the edges. Smith said the stone reminded her of a heart.
“To me it looks like a heart,” she explained. “That’s the first thing I saw when I found it.”
Park Interpreter Sarah Bivens said Smith’s enthusiasm stood out immediately.
“Ms. Smith exuded joy from the moment she walked in the door,” Bivens noted. “Sometimes, I think diamond finds like this are just meant to be.”
Smith named her discovery the “Za’Novia Liberty Diamond,” combining the names of her two grandchildren with a tribute to America’s upcoming 250th anniversary.
Crater of Diamonds State Park has produced some legendary finds over the decades, including the 40.23-carat “Uncle Sam” diamond — still the largest diamond ever discovered in the US — and the celebrated 3.03-carat Strawn-Wagner diamond, later graded as a rare D-flawless gem.
Credits: Photos courtesy of Crater of Diamonds State Park.