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PALMDALE, Calif. — A California woman, who didn't know she had a jackpot-winning $23 million lottery ticket in her car, came forward with just weeks to spare to claim her fortune.
California Lottery officials said the Palmdale woman's daughter recognized her mother from a newspaper photo of the supposed winner, captured on the liquor store's surveillance camera.
"She just never checked the ticket," lottery spokesman Alex Traverso told the newspaper. "Her daughter took a picture of her photo in the newspaper and sent it to her mother, she went to her car and found the ticket."
Earlier this week, lottery officials had put out a public notice that the winning ticket from the May 28 drawing had not been claimed and was in danger of expiring within the month. They also released a grainy surveillance photo of a woman in a blue shirt and dark pants who was identified as the then-unknown winner.
The ticket had the correct numbers, 14, 7, 26, 31, 23 and Mega 5. If she had not turned in the ticket within the next 25 days, she would have lost the money, and the millions would have gone to California schools.
