DENVER — For as long as the Ortiz family can remember, a charcoal drawing their great-great-grandmother drew has been hanging on a wall, accompanying most family celebrations and holidays.
Denise Ortiz remembers the picture hanging in her mother's house for at least 55 years.
The picture dates back to the 1890s. It's believed that Alice Swift drew the Virgin Mary for an art class project, resembling a masterpiece from a different artist. They believe it was her assignment to replicate it. Through the generations, the Ortiz family always passed it down.
"We’re not an heirloom family. This isn’t something that we have a bunch of, from any of our ancestors. So we hang onto those few things that we’ve been able to," said Ashley Ortiz, Swift's great-great-granddaughter.
When Denise's mother passed away, she gave the painting to her son. He decided that he would donate the drawing to the church his mother attended in Northglenn. It hung on the wall for about a year, and then while the church was decluttering, the drawing was mistakenly placed in the church rummage sale.
"I think, just in the shuffle, it was put out in the garage sale, a rummage sale," Denise said.
The sale happened in June and the family discovered the artwork was gone from the church in September. They've been looking ever since to find it.
"I think somebody was struck and really taken by it and is probably really loving the spot they found in their home for it," Ashley said. "We love that, but we would love to have it back and offer visitation rights if possible because we really want it back in our family."
Ashley has been spreading the word on social media to see if they can track it down. The church also said they took excess items that did not sell from the rummage sale to local thrift stores. They searched those locations hoping it may still be at the store, in the possibility that no one purchased it at the rummage sale.
They're hoping anyone who knows what happened to the painting will reach out to the Ortiz family.