Spanish Lottery Winner Lost $6.5 Million Ticket, Sum Could Go To Its Finder

A Spanish lottery winner has still not come forward, even though they recently won $6.5 million but then lost the ticket.

The individual bought the lottery ticket in La Coruna, a northern city in Spain; however, they lost the ticket in the shop and haven’t returned to claim their prize. The city has come together in order to help locate the person; however, they have so far failed in their attempts to track the individual down.

The residents of La Coruna are now making a public plea for the ticket’s owner to come forward. However, if you are worried that a wily individual might step forward and lie about buying the ticket, to prove that it’s theirs, they will have to know when and where it was purchased.

The winning ticket was for the June 30, 2012 draw, and it was actually found by another customer, who simply handed it back to the store’s manager as they were unaware of the riches that they had in their hand.

Carlos Negreira, La Coruna’s Mayor, joked of the incident, “I’ll be the first Spanish mayor who’s searching for a millionaire not to ask for money but to give it.”

Once somebody comes forward and claims to have purchased the winning ticket, they will then be questioned extensively in order to figure out if they are telling the truth.

La Coruna is legally required to try and find the winner of the money. In 1889, a Spanish statute was create which states that municipalities must safeguard lost winning lottery tickets, and it also added that they must make every effort to find the individual who purchased it.

This search can last for up to two years. However, if by the end of the 24 months the winner still hasn’t come forward, the jackpot then goes to the person who found the ticket.

[Image via Andrey_Popov/Shutterstock]