Mega Millions Mystery Solved?

(CBS/AP)  Someone has turned in a valid ticket for the $162 million Mega Millions multistate lottery jackpot, the Ohio Lottery said Tuesday, a day after a woman claimed she lost the winning ticket outside the convenience store where it was sold.

Ohio Lottery spokeswoman Mardele Cohen would not comment on whether the winner was Elecia Battle, the woman who filed a police report saying she lost the ticket last week.

About 30 people with flashlights searched for the ticket Monday night outside the suburban Cleveland store after a police report Battle filed became public.

Using flashlights and braving the winter cold, about 30 people Monday night had scoured the suburban Cleveland convenience store parking lot Monday night in hopes of finding the lost ticket. The fortune seekers sifted through snow, darkness and cold, and even did a little dumpster diving, reports Lynna Lai of CBS affiliate WOIO.

The free-for-all was sparked when Battle, of Cleveland, filed a police report saying she dropped her purse as she left the Quick Shop Food Mart last week after buying the ticket. She said she realized after the drawing Dec. 30 that the ticket was missing.

"I'm praying that someone finds the ticket, brings it forward and gets rewarded and from there we all live happily ever after," said Battle, who cried as she talked to The Associated Press at her home Monday night.

Fat chance. Lottery officials say whoever has the ticket gets the prize.

"Maybe today might be my lucky day," said one searcher.

"If she dropped her purse over there like they say it's got to be in this vicinity somewhere," said another.

"I'm looking in the trash can for the ticket," said a young girl.

Police say Battle was in tears when she came to the station Friday to file the report and did not hesitate when asked to write down the winning numbers.

"We don't believe that she's fabricating it, but there's no real way of knowing other than going on her word," Lt. Kevin Nieter said.

Nieter said information Battle knew about when the ticket was bought and how the numbers were picked make her story credible. She told police that the numbers — 12, 18, 21, 32 and 46 and Mega Ball 49 — represented family birthdays and ages.

The Ohio Lottery said the winning ticket was sold at the store in suburban South Euclid, about 15 miles east of Cleveland. The winning ticket was sold to someone who chose the numbers, not someone who let the machine pick.

"To have something in your hand and have it slip out is a tough thing to swallow," said Elecia's husband, Jimmy Battle, who has two jobs. The couple have seven children, some from previous marriages.

Nieter said the Battle family may be out of luck if someone else picked up the lone winning ticket for what was the largest lottery jackpot in state history.

"Whoever has the ticket has the right to stake the claim to the winning jackpot. You can file all the police reports you want, but it's not going to help," he said.

According to the police report, officers tried to see if Battle showed up on the store's surveillance cameras but the store owner said the cameras were broken.

If someone else came in with the ticket, Battle could try to get a temporary restraining order in court to block the winnings from being paid.