MURFREESBORO, Ark. (KARK) – Officials at Crater of Diamonds State Park announced that a family from Cookson, Oklahoma, discovered a nearly 3-carat brown diamond during their visit.

Raynae Madison and her family were in Arkansas for the weekend to celebrate her nephew’s birthday when they decided to try their luck searching for diamonds on the north side of the park’s 37.5-acre diamond search area near the Prospector Trailhead.

On Sept. 13, after digging several buckets of dirt and sifting it through screens, Madison spotted an unusual oblong, shiny stone. Park staff later confirmed it was a 2.79-carat brown diamond.

(Arkansas State Parks)

Emma O’Neal, a park interpreter, explained that brown diamonds form through plastic deformation, which creates structural defects that reflect red an

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