Woman Died Homeless While Oregon Held On To $884K Inheritance

ASTORIA, OR — Before she died, Cathy Boone lived what some who knew her called “a rough life.” She struggled with addiction. She battled mental health issues. Like many, she simply needed some help.

Boone died at age 49, penniless and living on the streets of Astoria, Oregon.

When she died, she had no idea that she had inherited a small fortune — and the state of Oregon had been hanging on to the money.

“It just didn’t make any sense to me. That money was just sitting there, and she needed help in the worst way,” Jack Spithill, Boone’s father, told Portland-based KGW Channel 8.

Boone was among more than 14,600 people who are considered homeless in the state of Oregon, according to the United States Interagency Council On Homelessness.

Nationally, about 580,466 people in the United States experienced homelessness for at least a single night, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s 2020 homeless assessment report. The number represents a 2.2 percent increase from 2019.

It turns out that when Boone’s mother died, an attorney and personal representative assigned to her estate attempted to locate Boone. They placed ads in the local newspaper, messaged her on Facebook, emailed family members and tried reaching Boone by phone, KGW reported. A private investigator hired to find Boone also was unable to find her.

In July 2019, a judge ordered that $884,407 in estate assets be sent to the Oregon Department of State Lands, which handles unclaimed money from estates when heirs can’t be found or refuse payment.

The agency is not responsible for finding known heirs, KGW reported — it’s only required to hold the money until the person it belongs to comes forward.

A 2020 analysis of each state by SmartAsset found that more than $49.5 billion worth of unclaimed property exists in the United States. Most government bodies don’t have websites listing whether a person is owed a sum of money. They can, however, find it on their own for free, using various official databases.

Those who knew Boone said they had no idea she had money available to her.

“She was a special person as far as I’m concerned,” Donny Holder, who shared cigarettes and coffee with Boone at McDonald’s, told KGW.

Holder carries a photo of Boone in his pocket. He keeps it in a tattered Ziploc bag.

"She was a sweetheart,” he told KGW. “I fell in love with her.”