Winning Lottery Ticket Found in Wallet of Dead Michigan Man Who Washed Up on Shore of Lake Huron

A Michigan man was found dead on a private beach in the Saginaw Bay area of Lake Huron with a winning lottery ticket in his wallet.

The body of 57-year-old Gregory Jarvis was found on a private beach on Friday, September 24, according to ABC 12. Authorities discovered a winning lottery ticket in his wallet and decided to investigate his death further.

Jarvis won a $45,000 jackpot playing the club keno add-on game “The Jack,” at Blue Water Inn in Caseville, Michigan, on September 13, ABC 12 reported.

Jarvis was unable to claim his prize as his social security card was not in acceptable shape. One must provide a photo ID and a valid social security card to claim lottery winnings over $600 in the state of Michigan, according to the Michigan Lottery website.

“He couldn’t cash it because he didn’t have a social security card. It was like – it wasn’t any good, so he applied for a new one,” owner of the Blue Water Inn Dawn Talaski told ABC 12. 

Regulars and staff at Blue Water Inn became concerned after Jarvis did not show up to the bar after his last visit on September 19 when he was buying drinks for patrons.

“Sometimes he’s up north working, he wasn’t here all week and we thought, something is wrong,” Talaski told ABC. Jarvis’s boss showed up at the bar on September 22 and informed patrons and staff that his employee had not shown up to work. His body was found on the private beach near his boat two days later on September 24. 

Officers became concerned after discovering the winning ticket in Jarvis’s wallet. “At first, we were concerned about it but after the autopsy, and we interviewed people at the bar, he was well-liked around here, he was a nice guy, that took it off the table,” Caseville Police Chief Kyle Romzek told ABC.

“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,” Romzek explained.

Jarvis’s obituary was published by Fischer Family Funeral Services and paints the picture of a hard-working American that cared deeply about his friends. 

“Greg was a hard working man that did many jobs throughout his life,” the obituary reads. “While working on a farm he hauled sugar beets and tended herds of cattle, and he attempted with success all types of construction projects.

“Winter up north gave him the opportunity to make friends through helping winterize vacation homes and pull docks out of the water before cold weather,” the obituary states.  “He loved being counted on as he helped others. His many friends were like family to him.”