After 3-week search, woman finds 2.3-carat diamond at Arkansas park for engagement ring
A woman from New York searching for the perfect stone for her engagement ring struck gold or rather, diamond with a stunning 2.3-carat find.
Micherre Fox, of Manhattan, decided about two years ago she wanted to find her own diamond.
In July, she traveled to Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas -- the only public site in the world where visitors can search for and keep any gems they find, according to the state park.
"I was willing to go anywhere in the world to make that happen," she told the state park in a recent interview. "I researched, and it turned out that the only place in the world to do it was right in our backyard, in Arkansas!"
Since becoming a state park in 1972, Crater of Diamonds has yielded more than 35,000 diamonds, including the record-breaking 40.23-carat Uncle Sam.
Fox arrived on July 8 and spent nearly every day of her three-week trip digging for diamonds.
During her final day on July 29, she spotted a glint in the park's 37.5-acre search area.
At first, she thought it might be a dew-covered spiderweb, but when the shine didn't fade, she nudged it with her boot and picked it up.
"Having never seen an actual diamond in my hands, I didn't know for sure, but it was the most 'diamond-y diamond' I had seen," she recalled.
Fox later rushed to the Diamond Discovery Center, where staff confirmed it was a white, colorless diamond weighing more than two carats, according to the state park.
"I got really lucky and I worked hard," Fox said in an interview that aired Aug. 13 on ABC News "World News Tonight With David Muir," adding that her advice to others is to, "Hold on to being optimistic and bold, even though it’s naïve."
More than 350 diamonds have been found at the park this year, and Fox's gem, which she named the Fox-Ballou Diamond after her and her partner's last names, is the third-largest discovered there in 2025, according to the state park.
Looking back, Fox said her experience at the park was all about getting her hands dirty, crediting park staff and fellow visitors for making the trip unforgettable.
"After all the research, there's luck and there's hard work," she said in the interview with the state park. "When you are literally picking up the dirt in your hands, no amount of research can do that for you; no amount of education can take you all the way. It was daunting!"
