Internet sleuths resolve an enormous thriller after 5 years of looking

A search to identify a celebrity whose face was included in the design of a 2008 piece of fabric is finally been solved after five years.

Baffled internet users have been searching far and wide for more than half a decade to identify the so-called ‘Celebrity No 6’ – a mysterious star who appeared on piece of fabric.

The internet mystery began five years ago, when Reddit user TontsaH, from Finland,  posted a picture of a piece of a fabric they bought in 2008, which featured celebrities who were popular at the time. 

Seven of the eight celebrities on the pattern were quickly identified – but no one could agree on who number six was – until now. 

More than 42,000 people joined a subreddit dedicated to solving the mystery – with sleuths going as far as contacting the designer and heading to their local library to flick through old gossip magazines to unveil the celeb.

And after years of searching, the ‘celebrity’ has finally been identified as Spanish model Leticia Sardá.

Brad Pitt, Princess Stephanie of Monaco, Rebecca Romijn were all contenders were all contender for the so-called ‘Celebrity No 6′.

Hundreds of names, both male and female,  were put forward but for half a decade no one was able to match the exact picture to the celebrity.

Swedish-French model Filippa Hamilton even claimed it was her – but internet detectives weren’t convinced. 

Brad Pitt was one of the leading contenders – however people claimed the ‘ear shape’ and ‘hair parting’ was wrong for the Fight Club star.

Other names proposed included River Phoenix,  Evangeline Lilly, Heath Ledger, Nicolette Sheridan, Jodie Foster and Travis Fimmel.

Some people have even suggested the likes of Queen Letizia of Spain and Kristen Stewart as the mysterious face. While some were convinced it was Desperate Housewives star Nicolette Sheridan. 

The fabric itself – called ‘Figures’  – was made by Finnish company ‘Anttila’, who have since gone bankrupt.

Further mystery was added to the saga when sleuths tracked down the designer.

He said he can’t remember who the celebrity is, but said that he used Hello! magazine to find star’s snaps. 

Bizarrely, he claimed to have used a 2015 edition of the magazine to make the fabric, despite multiple people claiming to have brought the fabric seven years earlier in 2008.

It was unlikely that the photos came from a 2015 magazine, as Hello! tends to publish recent pictures and the photos on the fabric ranged fro 1999-2007.

But now after a long search, people are now breathing a sigh of relief.

The solve began when Reddit user u/stefanmorse mentioned the name ‘Leticia Sardá’  – saying they found photos of the model who looked similar to Celebrity Number 6.

Another Reddit user – going by u/IndigoRoom – looked up the photographer of the shoot and found the name  Leandre Escorsell, who she believed to be the shoot’s photographer.

She then sent him and email asking if he recognised the photo. 

He then sent the original photo, which had appeared in a early noughties edition of Spanish Woman’s magazine nº162.

Reddit users are in shock, with many saying it’s a ‘historic moment’.   

‘Damn dude, we need to get you on the zodiac case. good job,’ said one.

‘You will live in Reddit’s Hall of Fame! Great detective work,’ said another.

‘Excellent work, OP, and props to Leandre Escorsell for being so kind! Since not all contacts like to play ball with lost media searches, it’s always great to encounter someone so warm,’ wrote a third.

‘Reddit does better investigative work than the FBI,’ added another.

‘Wow. Simply amazing. Awesome job! Most of us, myself included, have only been here for the ride, mostly lurking and maybe doing some superficial research here and there; but you went above and beyond and actually did something about it.

‘I can’t even imagine the feeling you had when you opened that last email and saw the photo (THE photo) staring at you in the face. I’m getting goosebumps just looking at that screenshot of the mail here, and I already knew what would be coming,’ wrote one.

‘This is a historic moment,’ quipped another.

‘The scream i just scrumpt! I woke up all my cats and terrified my husband!’ joked another.

‘I feel like I’m witnessing history.’ added another.

‘You know it’s real because the photographer’s first reaction is “Wtf — somebody stole my photo!” joked one.

Leticia, 44,  has since said she had no idea about the search.

‘I still can’t believe it… And I didn’t know anything about it, until two days ago I had no idea about all this,’ she told Spanish Vanity Fair.

‘I’m still processing it, I haven’t even had time to do any research. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where I live, two people have already stopped me in the street to offer to manage my social networks. I was leaving work in cholas [a term used in the Canary Islands to refer to flip-flops or comfortable footwear], in shorts and with a messy bun, so I told them I wasn’t ready for this. 

She added she isn’t big on social media and  only found out when someone she knew told her she had ‘gone viral on TikTok’.

The model, who posed for the likes of Burberry, L’Oreal and Levi’s and did campaigns with Ian Somerhalder and Tom Welling gave up her career in 2009, aged 29, and has since led a quiet, private life in Tenerife.

The other famous faces on the fabric include Lost star Josh Holloway, actress Jessica Alba, Victoria Secret model Adriana Lima (who appears twice) as well as actors Travis Fimmel and Orlando Bloom.

Others on Reddit, who are also from Finland, have said they believe they also have the fabric.

Some said they believe they’ve seen the original photo – but can’t remember who it is.

‘Hi. I’ve seen the original of this photo. I don’t remember who she is or what exact colour the shirt is. But I do remember that she has some kind of VIP pass or Backstage pass around her neck. The thick dark line around her ‘neck’ is the strap for the pass,’ one Reddit user wrote.

‘I’m certain it’s a she. And for the hair. I remember it as dark blonde. 

‘I recall the original pic but I don’t know the name of the model or brand to search it up.’

Around 65 per cent of the subreddit believed the celeb was woman – while 35 per cent thought they were a man – before the reveal.

One user even conducted a week-long investigation searching through entire 1998-2007 Getty catalogue in the hope of finding the photo.

His guesses included Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Hilary Duff, Olivia Wilde, Kristen Bell, Kate Hudson and Angelina Jolie.