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A woman accidentally discovered $27,000 after kicking a 'spiderweb' in an Arkansas park.
Hidden treasures often turn up in the most unexpected places, but this one feels like more than just a stroke of good luck. While some people discover they've been using a thousand-dollar meteorite as a doorstop, others are kicking themselves for throwing away hard drives that are worth fortunes in Bitcoin.
Now, a Manhattan-based woman had her own stroke of luck during a visit to Arkansas.
Micherre Fox made the 1,330-mile journey specifically to the world-famous Crater of Diamonds State Park, a location known for being rich with gems.
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The recent graduate school student was on a hunt to find the perfect diamond for her engagement ring during her month-long break between finishing academia and starting a new job.
"There's something symbolic about being able to solve problems with money, but sometimes money runs out in a marriage,” Fox said in a news release from Arkansas State Parks. “You need to be willing and able to solve those problems with hard work.”
Fox researched several diamond hunting locations around the world and discovered that Arkansas offered some of the best opportunities for finding treasures. For three weeks, the 31-year-old searched tirelessly through the park's designated diamond fields.
On the final day, Fox spotted what appeared to be a dew-covered spiderweb. Acting on impulse, she kicked at the supposed web and, as luck would have it, found what she was looking for.
"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,” Fox described.
Staffers at the park's Diamond Discovery Center confirmed Fox's incredible find.
The diamond was white and colourless, weighing an impressive 2.3 carats, which is roughly the size of a human canine tooth.
“I got on my knees and cried, then started laughing,” Fox recalled.
According to diamond comparison site StoneAlgo, the average price of a 2.3-carat diamond is around $27,000.
Following park tradition, Fox chose a meaningful name for the gem by blending her last name with her partner’s, resulting in the Fox-Ballou Diamond.
She plans to have the stone set in her engagement ring, which her partner agreed to wait to present until she accomplished her goal of finding her own diamond.
Fox's find stands out compared to the usual sights that visitors see in the park. The news release noted that 366 diamonds were registered at the park in 2025, but only 11 of them weighed more than one carat.
Since diamonds were first discovered at the site in 1906, more than 75,000 diamonds have been found at the park.
