Police - Woman claims $162 million Mega Millions ticket lost

CLEVELAND -- A 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, of Cleveland, 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 that the winning ticket was sold at the store in South Euclid, about 15 miles east of Cleveland.

Battle, 40, would not talk about the specifics of when she bought the ticket, how she lost it or even if she was a regular lottery player. She planned a news conference today to announce a reward.

"I'm praying that someone finds the ticket, brings it forward and gets rewarded and from there we all live happily ever after," said Battle, who cried as she talked to The Associated Press.

She and her husband have seven children, some from previous marriages.

"To have something in your hand and have it slip out is a tough thing to swallow," said Jimmy Battle, who has two jobs, including a newspaper route.

Ticket search under way

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.

Finder's keepers

Nieter said Elecia 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.

If no one picked up the ticket from the store parking lot, it was likely destroyed in wet, snowy weather, police said.

Messages left with the police department seeking comment Monday were not immediately returned.

According to the police report, officers tried to see if Battle showed up on the store's surveillance cameras but the store owner said the cameras were broken.

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.

If the jackpot isn't claimed by June 27, it goes to Ohio and 10 other states that participate in the game.

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