Lottery winner drowns with winning ticket still in his wallet
A 57-year-old man has drowned in a lake with a winning lottery ticket in his wallet.
Michigan-local Gregory Jarvis was found washed up on a beach in the state's east, almost 10 days after scooping the impressive jackpot.
Gregory had been at a local inn on September 13 when he won $45,000 in a Club Keno game.
He was unable to cash out his winnings straight away, as he didn't have his social security card with him at the time.
According to the state of Michigan and ABC12 news, social security cards must be presented in order to cash lottery jackpot winnings over $600.
Gregory had applied for a new card and was planning to visit his family with the winnings once he could cash them in, according to the Blue Water Inn owner Dawn Talaski.
Gregory returned to the inn's bar on September 19 to celebrate his win as he bought a round of drinks.
However, when he didn't show up as usual the following day, inn owner Dawn became concerned.
"He wasn’t here all week and we thought, something is wrong," she said.
Gregory's boss even went to the bar on September 22 to search for him when he hadn't shown up for work.
Two days later, a local resident called the police when they witnesses a body had washed ashore on their private beach in Huron County.
The body was found near a boat, and police confirmed the boat belonged to Gregory Jarvis.
An autopsy revealed that Gregory had hit his head before he drowned.
Local police found the winning lottery ticket in Gregory's wallet, which prompted an investigation to rule out foul play.
Their investigation showed no such motives or evidence, as Caseville Police Chief Kyle Romzek said, "We are thinking that he was tying up his boat, slipped and fell, hit his head and that’s where he ended up in the water."
The winning lottery ticket has now been handed over to Gregory's relatives.
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