premise: After the discarded mural was found outside the school by a concerned Stamford graduate, it eventually was turned over to Hiram Hoelzer, a professional art restorer. Throughout the 1970s, Stamford school and city officials made no effort to locate the mural. Apparently the officials didn't even know the mural was missing until 1980, when a researcher found that the painting was in Mr. Hoelzer's studio and questioned school officials about it.
hypothesis: the mural was missing