Page 8 - IAV Digital Magazine #501

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Crater of Diamonds Visitor
Finds 2.23-carat Brown
Diamond In The Dirt
By Ben Hooper
June 26 (UPI) -
- An Arkansas woman visiting the state's Crater of Diamonds State Park found a 2.23-carat brown diamond -- the largest dis- covery at the park this year.
Arkansas State Parks said Mena resident Beatrice Watkins, 56, was sifting the soil at the Murfreesboro park with her daughter and granddaughters this month when she came across the gem.
"I thought it was shiny but had no
idea it was a dia- mond!" Watkins said. "My daugh- ter googled simi- lar-looking stones and thought it might have been iron pyrite, so I stuck it in my sack and kept sifting."
The family took their discoveries to the park's Diamond Discovery Center while taking a break about an hour later and Watkins discov- ered the "iron pyrite" was actu- ally a 2.23-carat brown diamond.
"I was so excited, I just couldn't believe it,"
Watkins said. "I still can't believe it."
Park officials said Watkins' dia- mond, dubbed the Lady Beatrice Diamond, is the largest diamond found at the park since the discov- ery of a 3.29- carat brown dia- mond in October 2019.
"Ms. Watkins's diamond is about the size of an English pea, with an oblong shape and a metallic luster," Park Interpreter Waymon Cox said. "The sur- face is smooth and rounded, a characteristic shared by most Crater diamonds. It has a dark brown shade similar to iced tea."
Watkins said she hasn't yet decid- ed what to do with her gem, but she is consider- ing keeping it as inheritance for her children and grandchildren.
Diver Recovers $17,000 Ring From Bottom of California River
By Ben Hooper
June 26 (UPI) -
- A California diver known as "Merman Mike" plunged into the Sacramento River and was able to recover a lost ring worth $17,000.
Mike Pelley, who uses the alias "Merman Mike" on his YouTube channel, said he was approached by a man named Bill Fitty who heard about his underwater exploits and needed help find- ing a lost item.
Fitty said in a video posted by Pelley that he
had dropped a ring into the Sacramento River that was a gift from his brother. He said the item was worth about $17,000.
Pelley said his first dive came up empty, so he dropped a brick into the water in the same spot where Fitty lost the ring, so he would have a bet- ter idea of where to look.
Pelley surfaced from his second dive with the ring in his hand.
Fitty said he wanted to reward Pelley with
$1,500 to buy an underwater metal detector for future dives.
"I'm like getting choked up talking about it,"
Pelley told CBS Sacramento. "Doing this has brought back the good in humanity in me because everyone I talk to is always so grateful and happy."
Pelley said the metal detector will help him on the search for two wedding rings he has been trying to find for their own- ers.