U.S. WOMAN: $26M LOTTERY TICKET GOES DOWN DRAIN

Norwalk, Calif., May 15: The winner of a $26 million California Lottery prize may have literally washed the chance of a fortune down the drain.

The winning SuperLotto Plus ticket for the Nov. 14 drawing was sold at an Arco AM/PM convenience store in the Los Angeles suburb of Norwalk. Thursday was the last day to redeem it.

Nobody did.

Store employee Esperanza Hernandez told the Whittier Daily News that a woman came in Wednesday and told workers that she had put the ticket in her pants and it was destroyed in the laundry.

The store's manager told KTLA-TV that surveillance video showed the woman who bought the ticket, and she's known to store workers.

A copy of the surveillance video was turned over to California Lottery officials, the manager said.

The claim will be investigated, lottery spokeswoman Cathy Johnston said.