Police: Woman says she lost $162M ticket
SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio (AP) -- A Cleveland woman has told police she picked the winning numbers for the $162 million Mega Millions lottery jackpot but lost the ticket before the drawing, according to a police report.
Elecia Battle told police she dropped her purse as she left the Quick Shop Food Mart last week after buying the ticket. She said she realized after the drawing last Tuesday that the ticket was missing.
The Ohio Lottery said the winning ticket was sold at the store, about 15 miles east of Cleveland.
After news of Battle's police report spread Monday night, several people wielding flashlights walked through snow and braved frigid temperatures to try to find the ticket in the store parking lot.
"I decided to come back to see if I could find the winning ticket," said LaVerne Coleman, 57, who says she would keep the winnings if she found the ticket.
Police say Battle was in tears when she came to the station Friday to file the report and did not hesitate when asked to write down the winning numbers.
"We don't believe that she's fabricating it, but there's no real way of knowing other than going on her word," Lt. Kevin Nieter told Cleveland's WEWS-TV on Monday.
Nieter said information Battle knew about when the ticket was bought and how the numbers were picked make her story credible. She told police that the numbers -- 12, 18, 21, 32 and 46 and Mega Ball 49 -- represented family birthdays and ages.
The winning ticket was sold to someone who chose the numbers, not someone who let the machine pick.
Messages left with the police department seeking comment were not immediately returned.
Battle could not immediately be reached for comment. There was no telephone listing for her.
Nieter said Battle may be out of luck if someone else picked up the lone winning ticket.
"Whoever has the ticket has the right to stake the claim to the winning jackpot. You can file all the police reports you want but it's not going to help," he said.
Ohio Lottery spokeswoman Mardele Cohen said that if someone else came in with the ticket, Battle could try to get a temporary restraining order in court to block the winnings from being paid.
The winner has six months from the drawing to claim the largest jackpot in state history. If the money isn't claimed by June 27, it goes to Ohio and 10 other states that participate in the game.
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