A desperate homeless mum of two who died in a shelter unaware she had over $800,000 of unclaimed inheritance.

Cathy Boone, 49, from Oregon, US was the rightful owner of the money left to her by her mother who died in 2016 but despite newspaper adverts seeking her and the help of a private investigator, she was not traced before she herself passed away after efforts to trace her to hand over the fortune failed.

Ms Boone had been suffering from drug and mental health issues when she passed away while sleeping rough in Astoria, Oregon.

Her father Jack Spithall said she needed “help in the worst way” at the end of her life. “It just didn’t make any sense to me. That money just sitting there – and she needed help in the worst way.”

Boone grew up in the Portland area and later moved to Astoria, where her mother lived after her parents had separated.

Her $884,407 inheritance money now remains unclaimed in a state bank account after the estate’s representatives couldn’t locate her.

The funds were moved to the Department of State Lands amid uncertainty over who has claims to them.

“Given a year and a half of effort taken by the personal representative and the attorney for this particular estate, there really isn’t much more that the state could do,” Claudia Ciobanu, a spokesperson for the department said.

“This is a unique case and we sympathise with the family.”

Ms Boone’s two biological children and others could potentially have claims to the cash.