Theft of Zorro photo puzzles Calgary restaurant staff

Antonio Banderas famously played a thief in the film, The Mask of Zorro, but nowsomeone in Calgary has stolenBanderas.

And it appears they may even have used a sword or at least a small knife to do it.

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After hanging in the washroom of The Beltliner restaurant for nearly two years, a photo of the actor as the legendary character was recently cut free, leaving only an empty frame behind.

Making the caper even more interesting, Beltliner owner Brendan Bankowski told The Calgary Eyeopener, is the fact photos of Brad Pitt and Suzanne Somers were left untouched.

The photos were put up for a simple reason.

"I feel like it's always nice to not be alone in the bathroom," said Bankowski. "It's nice to have a little bit of company so we hung a [picture] of Antonio Banderas,"

Bankowski said the washrooms were changed to gender neutral less than 48 hours before the heist. Prior to that, Banderasonly kept women company.

Replacement vote

Rather than simply pine for its return, staff are doing an internal poll to see which famous face should be used as a replacement for the pilfered photo. Bankowski said a vote will be held Wednesday afternoon.

And while he's not holding out hope, Bankowski said he would like for whoever took the photo to return it, or at least provide an explanation.

"If anybody can help us return the missing [photo], it's near and dear to our hearts, we will make it worth your while, no questions asked," he said. "Maybe we can even make a trade."

With files from The Calgary Eyeopener