Arkansas boy finds 5-carat diamond after 10-minute search
- 11 years ago
Twelve-year-old Michael Dettlaff of North Carolina unearthed a 5-carat diamond at Arkansas' Crater of Diamonds State Park while on vacation with his family.
After searching for less than 10 minutes Dettlaff stumbled upon a strange looking rock.
"We were probably there about 10 minutes and I was looking around on the ground and found it on top," he told ABC News. "It was very glassy. Very smooth."
The boy showed the unassuming rock to his parents who initially didn't pay much attention to it.
"Later on in the day, right when we were ready to quit, my wife showed it to me again and then I thought, you know, that might really be something," Chris Dettlaff told ABC.
It was only later when Dettlaff took his discovery to the park's free identification center that the boy realized he had a real diamond in the rock in his hands.
"We let the kids go up to the rock identification people by themselves and all of a sudden it's like this five-carat diamond," he said. "It was just crazy after that."
According to appraisers, the jelly bean sized gem could be worth as much as $15,000. The lucky boy is still considering his options though.
"If it can get cut and it's valuable, I think I'd probably want to have it cut and sell it," he said. "If it's not, well, then it's a souvenir."
Forty-niners will no doubt be rushing to Arkansas to get a shot at that kind of fortune.
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After searching for less than 10 minutes Dettlaff stumbled upon a strange looking rock.
"We were probably there about 10 minutes and I was looking around on the ground and found it on top," he told ABC News. "It was very glassy. Very smooth."
The boy showed the unassuming rock to his parents who initially didn't pay much attention to it.
"Later on in the day, right when we were ready to quit, my wife showed it to me again and then I thought, you know, that might really be something," Chris Dettlaff told ABC.
It was only later when Dettlaff took his discovery to the park's free identification center that the boy realized he had a real diamond in the rock in his hands.
"We let the kids go up to the rock identification people by themselves and all of a sudden it's like this five-carat diamond," he said. "It was just crazy after that."
According to appraisers, the jelly bean sized gem could be worth as much as $15,000. The lucky boy is still considering his options though.
"If it can get cut and it's valuable, I think I'd probably want to have it cut and sell it," he said. "If it's not, well, then it's a souvenir."
Forty-niners will no doubt be rushing to Arkansas to get a shot at that kind of fortune.
--------------------------------------------------------
TomoNews is your daily source for top animated news. We've combined animation and video footage with a snarky personality to bring you the biggest and best stories from around the world.
For news that's fun and never boring, visit our channel:
https://www.youtube.com/user/TomoNewsUS
Subscribe to stay updated on all the top stories:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=TomoNewsUS
Stay connected with us here:
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS
Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS
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