BOISE, Idaho ÔÇô After five and a half months of waiting and wondering, the "Mega Mystery" of the missing $250,000 Mega Millions winning ticket from Coeur d'Alene has been solved. A winning ticket matching all five of the first numbers, but not the Mega Ball was sold for the April 16, 2010 draw from the Safeway Store on 4th Street in Coeur d'Alene. Until late last week, the Idaho Lottery had only received a handful of telephone inquiries about the ticket, but no one with the winner.

With about two weeks left before the ticket worth a quarter-of-a-million dollars was set expire, and thus rendering the Idaho Lottery unable to play the claim, Lavonne Hutchison mailed her ticket for $250,000 to the Idaho Lottery in Boise for payment not knowing the ticket's real value.

"At first, when I had the store check the ticket, they handed it back to me and told me to sign it right away and that I needed to send it to the Lottery," explained Hutchison, a resident of Coeur d'Alene for the past 34 years. "I'd thought I'd done something wrong."

The store explained to Hutchison she had a ticket that was worth more than they could pay, a prize over $600, but did not know how much the ticket was really worth. "They did tell me they sold a ticket worth $250,000 back in the spring and never heard who the winner was," said Hutchison. "I told them I was lucky, but not that lucky."

Hutchison signed her ticket and sent it to Boise registered mail and insured it for the $600 the store had told her, at a minimum, it was worth. Once the ticket arrived, during a routine verification check of the ticket, Idaho Lottery personnel called Hutchison and offered their congratulations.

"I had no idea why they were calling to congratulate me for a $600 winner," said Hutchison. "They asked me if I knew how much it was worth and I said $600. That's when they told me it was worth $250,000. I just about passed out."

Her first call after speaking with the Lottery was to her financial and retirement planner. "I was researching going back to work, but this just might have changed my mind," said Hutchison who visited Boise to receive her winning check on Wednesday, September 29, 2010 ÔÇô two weeks to the day before the ticket was going to expire.

The ticket had been in her purse for the past five and a half months. Although she shops at the Safeway Store on 4th Street, she had not played the Lottery or bought a Lottery ticket from the store since last April. For their part in selling the ticket, Safeway will receive a bonus of $20,000 from the Idaho Lottery.

"There was somebody behind the customer service counter when I was in the store, so I thought maybe I'd better check it," Hutchison said. "Good thing, too!"

"Mega Mystery" solved.

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