The famous picture of Churchill exchanged with a copy in the Ottawa hotel, the staff has not noticed for months

A famous photograph of WWII-era British Prime Minister Winston Churchill was stolen from a hotel in Ottawa and replaced with a copy without staff noticing for months.

Last weekend, hotel staff noticed that the picture was incorrectly attached, and the frame did not match other frames in the space, CTV reported. Then hotel officials used the photos submitted by the public to help determine when to swap out the original photo and frame.

The director of marketing for the Chateau Laurier hotel told CNN that the investigation into the disappearance of the image is still ongoing.

“So usually when a situation like this happens, it’s not a store robbery, it’s not just a burglary; it’s someone on the inside who has access, knows what they’re looking for, knows the security procedures that were protecting the piece and they (they) are,” Whitman told CTV. They were able to defeat those actions because they had inside information.”

The lovable black and white photo captures Churchill frowning moments after Karsh snatches a cigar from the Prime Minister’s mouth for the shot.

“His relationship with the hotel was very deep and very warm,” Jerry Felder, Karsh property manager, told CTV. “This was a very special print for him, and it was a really beautiful print. So it holds a very special significance.”

The Fairmont Château Laurier urged anyone with information about the stolen photo to contact local authorities immediately.