Heather Crowe, seen above in 2004 two years before her death, contracted lung cancer after working for 40 years in bars and restaurants. (Canadian Press) The City of Ottawa is looking for a memorial plaque that commemorated the life of Heather Crowe, an Ottawa waitress who died of lung cancer from second-hand smoke and waged an anti-smoking campaign.

"I'm really upset," said Moe Atallah, owner of the Newport Restaurant, on Monday. "Heather worked for me for quite a few years and when they put that plaque up, I was there.

"For me, in my heart, it's a sacred thing for her."

Crowe, a lifelong non-smoker, died in 2006 at the age of 61.

She was the first person to receive full compensation from Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Board because her cancer was caused by occupational exposure to cigarette smoke.

Moe Atallah, who employed Heather Crowe for years, says she inspired a lot of people and that the plaque commemorating her should be returned or replaced. (CBC News) The city installed the plaque in a small park named in her honour near Scott Street and Island Park Drive in 2009.

It emerged this week that the plaque was missing from the rock it was embedded on. The city said Monday that the plaque had been removed and that city staff were searching the park for it.

"I hope it's only some kids who are trying to make a dollar," Atallah said.

"It should go back where it belongs, because that's to commemorate a lady who inspired a lot of people in this country and [elsewhere], and we should put it back."