Months-old Powerball ticket worth $50,000 found while cleaning out bag

Dec. 21 (UPI) -- A Florida woman said she was cleaning out a backpack when she found a forgotten Powerball ticket she purchased months earlier in Maryland, and it turned out to be a $50,000 winner.

The 32-year-old Naples woman told Maryland Lottery officials she had been visiting family in Maryland during the summer when she bought a ticket for the June 26 Powerball drawing at Texas Ribs & BBQ in Clinton.

The ticket ended up in the woman's backpack, where it was forgotten for several months. The woman said she was cleaning the bag out late at night recently when she came across the ticket and decided to check if it was a winner.

The player used the Maryland Lottery app to scan the ticket, and said she scanned it four or five times because she didn't believe it was worth $50,000.

"It can't be real," the winner recalled thinking.

The woman said the prize money will go toward planning a family vacation and giving a boost to her savings account.