A Tel Aviv woman claims to have thrown out her mother's mattress when she bought her a new replacement as a surprise.
Her distraught elderly mother then revealed she had hidden her life savings of $1m (£700,000) inside.
By then it was too late - rubbish collectors had already binned the booty-filled mattress.
The woman and her mother have so far searched three different landfill sites, in vain according to local media reports.
Staff at one rubbish dump have been helping the women and describe them as "totally desperate".
A reported 2,500 tons of garbage arrive at the site every day.
The dump's management have increased security to keep away people hunting for the million dollar mattress.
Dump manager Yitzhak Borba said his staff were helping the woman.
The daughter, identified simply as "Anat", seems to be taking things philosophically.
"People have to take everything in proportion and thank God for the good and the bad," the daughter said.
Thus far her mother has not gone public - however she reportedly "almost fainted" when she was told of the lost treasure.