( CNN ) -- It does n't appear tracking down this piece of 9/11 history will be easy . Tips have been rolling in , spurred by the CNN Films ' production , `` The Flag , '' a documentary about the flag that three New York firefighters hoisted above the World Trade Center rubble in the aftermath of the attack . This particular version of Old Glory was 3 feet by 5 feet . Photos and video from the site suggest it went missing fewer than six hours after a photographer with a Bergen , New Jersey , newspaper captured the firefighters ' deed in a photo that would become one of the most -- if not the most -- iconic images from tragedy . Co-director Michael Tucker said he expects that as news of the film infiltrates the tight-knit communities of New York 's firefighters , police officers , port authority workers and paramedics , more viable leads will come . `` Once more people from that world see it , I think we 're going to start learning a lot more , '' he said , adding that he and co-director Petra Epperlein examined more than 5,000 photos and viewed four days of television coverage from each of the networks during the documentary 's production . Viewers began sharing leads before the documentary aired Wednesday , as TV featured promos and CNN.com posted a preview . By Wednesday night , there were a collective 50 tips to CNN.com 's landing page , an e-mail tip line and Twitter . Only a dozen or so were credible . Of course , there was the obligatory yahoo claiming aliens took it -- but there were more sober sightings as well . A Florida woman said she saw it in the New York State Museum in Albany , while another viewer wondered whether a flag he 'd seen at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point was the banner in question . Other potential sightings came at Missouri 's Fort Leonard Wood ; NASA 's Johnson Space Center in Houston ; the Escondido , California , Elks Lodge ; and the hair and makeup department of the New York New York Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas . In one seemingly angry e-mail received before the documentary aired , a man using the name of a retired New York police lieutenant slammed the firefighters . He accused them of stealing the flag ( the documentary explains how it was taken from a yacht docked near the trade center ) and claimed the iconic photo was staged and that the firefighters absconded with the flag after the picture was taken . `` There had already been a few flags hoisted down at the site including the first flag to be hoisted by 2 officers from the NYPD , '' the tipster wrote . `` Since the NYPD raised their flag in the immediate aftermath of the attack , there is still a ton of smoke and soot in the air , there are numerous rescue workers on scene ... several of whom are saluting . This is a much more original , natural , unrehearsed shot than the photo op taken much later . '' The most credible tip , Tucker said , came from a man who said a lighting company in Oskaloosa , Iowa , that assisted with the 9/11 cleanup effort was in possession of the flag . But that flag turned out to be larger than the 9/11 flag , Tucker said . Tucker 's hunch is that the flag 's disappearance involved nothing nefarious . `` Someone most likely saw it there and thought that 's a dirty , tattered flag and said , ' I 'm going to save that , ' `` he said . `` It 's going to be someone who either went there to volunteer with some specific skill or was a first responder . `` If anything , I think someone 's intentions were very good . '' While some tips are more feasible than others , Tucker says , `` They 're all legitimate because people have connections to these objects , to these symbols . '' And perhaps more important than finding the flag is providing this outlet for catharsis , Tucker said . Many people have forgotten how they felt the day the towers came down . With a war-weary nation now considering military action in Syria , Tucker believes discussing and searching for the 9/11 flag gives people an opportunity to revisit their emotions and `` immerse themselves in the story of that day . '' `` It was the worst of days that somehow brought out the best in many Americans , '' he said . `` It 's more than looking for a flag . It 's about looking for that feeling . '' Help find the flag .
The flag that became the subject of an iconic 9/11 photo went missing after it was hoisted . Tips roll in after CNN Films ' documentary `` The Flag '' airs , but none deemed viable . Possible sighting have come in Las Vegas , Houston , West Point and Oskaloosa , Iowa . Co-director says , `` It 's more than looking for a flag . It about looking for that feeling ''