A 2.01 Ct. Yellow Diamond found!!
When fields get plowed, diamonds don’t usually pop up. That’s unless you’re visiting Crater of Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas. That’s where Dean Filppula, an offshore steward from Shreveport, Louisiana, found a yellow 2.01-carat diamond last week.
It’s finders, keepers at the state park’s 37-acre search field, which is named for an ancient eruption that littered the area with gems. The area, which became a state park in 1972, is the only public site in the world where — for a small fee — you can dig for diamonds and keep them.
Dean Filppula holding his two-carat diamond (Photo: Crater of Diamonds State Park)
It was a lucky day for Mr. Dean Filppula, an offshore steward from Shreveport, LA who visited the park during vacation after a rainstorm. He found “wedge-shaped light yellow stone about the size of an English pea” in the West Drain area of the park. He is calling this 2.01 Ct diamond after his mother’s initials as “Merf Diamond”.
Park interpreter Wayman Cox says Mr. Filppula was at right place at right time. It rained heavily before his visit, which washed loose soil from surface uncovering the large yellow gem. His store is very familiar to many visitors in past who have found diamonds.
Mr. Filppula find is 20th diamond, but it is largest one found so far in 2015. He is planning to sell the diamond.