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Fortune washed away? Woman claims she washed $26M winning lottery ticket

This is a reminder: Always check pockets before tossing clothes in the wash. One woman may miss out on a multi million dollar windfall.

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A woman, whose name has not been released, says she’s the winner of a $26 million lottery, only, there’s one problem. She doesn’t have the winning ticket, the Whittier Daily News reported.

The ticket won on Nov. 14. with the numbers 23, 36, 12, 31, 13 and Mega Number 10. Thursday was the deadline to claim the money.

The woman went to the store where she said she purchased the ticket, an Arco AM/PM in Norwalk, California, a suburb of Los Angeles.

She said she put the ticket in her pants and then it was destroyed when she did her laundry.

The store manager, who would only identify himself as Frank, said he gave a copy of the surveillance video to the California Lottery and showed the woman who bought the ticket, KTLA reported. She also is said to frequent the location.

The claim is being investigated, according to lottery spokesperson Cathy Johnston.

But another spokesperson, Jorge De La Cruz, told the Los Angeles Times, “There’s no confirmed winner at this moment.”

There are steps a person can take if they think they have won a lottery in California but have lost the winning ticket.

They have to file a claim and provide evidence that they did own the winning ticket, such as a photo of the front and back.

The annuity value was $26 million for the drawing or $19.7 million for the cash payout. If the money isn’t claimed, it will be given to California Public Schools.

The store that sold the winning ticket received $130,000, the Times reported.

Lottery officials said that four prizes that were worth $20 million or more haven’t been claimed since 1997.