Michigan police recovered the body of a man along the beach who they said had a winning lottery ticket in his pocket.
Police said they discovered the $45,000-winning ticket in 57-year-old Gregory Jarvis’ wallet after paramedics confirmed he had drowned.
Investigators discovered his body on a private beach in Saginaw Bay after a resident reported the sighting.
State officials said Jarvis had attempted to collect the prize money but did not have a readable Social Security card. He had requested a replacement before he died.
The owner of the Blue Water Inn in Caseville, Mich., said Jarvis had hit the jackpot earlier this month and returned to buy rounds of drinks for other patrons. They last saw him on Sept. 19.
“We are thinking that he was tying up his boat, slipped and fell, hit his head, and that’s where he ended up in the water. No foul play suspected,” Caseville Police Chief Kyle Romzek told Live5News.
Officers questioned people at the hotel’s bar after discovering the winning ticket.
“At first, we were concerned about it. But after the autopsy, we interviewed people at the bar. He was well-liked around here. He was [a] nice guy. That took it off the table,” Romzek said.
Police said an autopsy revealed blows to Jarvis’ head that would be consistent with him falling off his boat, hitting his head, and drowning.
One witness said Jarvis had planned to use the money to visit his father and sister in North Carolina. Police have handed the winning ticket over to his family members.
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