While most of the Wilson Building’s denizens spent August wondering whether Vince Gray would veto the Large Retailer Accountability Act, one or more thieves got up to some mischief of their own—making off with a pair of ivory tusks housed in the District’s city hall.

The tusks were a gift from Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie during his 1954 world tour. The tusks disappeared from the building sometime between Aug. 12 and Aug. 27. Metropolitan Police Department spokesman Saray Leon declined to say which floor the tusks were stolen from.

The crime was noticed around Aug. 27, but police are making it public now to get tips, according to Leon.

“They’re hoping that somebody in the public might be able to assist,” she says.

Photo courtesy MPD