Missouri Lottery winner lost her winning ticket for three weeks

Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A Missouri woman said she recognized the winning numbers of a $195,000 jackpot -- but she couldn't find her ticket for three weeks.

Perle Erwin of Waynesville told Missouri Lottery officials she has played four sets of numbers representing family birthdays in the Show Me Cash game for about 30 years, but she decided to try something different for the June 25 drawing.

Erwin bought a ticket with numbers representing the upcoming ages of her grandchildren, and the winning numbers matched her picks.

"The winning numbers looked familiar to me, so I went home to look for my ticket," Erwin said.

Erwin soon discovered the ticket was missing, and it took some time to find it.

"It took me three weeks to find my ticket," she said.

The winner brought the recovered ticket to Missouri Lottery headquarters to collect her $180,000 jackpot.