Leticia Sarda is 43 and lives on the Spanish island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. She has two children and used to travel the globe working as a model for brands like Burberry. For nearly the last five years, thousands of people on the internet have been trying desperately to find her.
She had no clue.
The search for Ms. Sarda began with a piece of fabric. Nearly five years ago, a Reddit user who goes by TontsaH posted an image of a piece of cloth printed with illustrations of several faces. Some were quickly identifiable as celebrities, like the model Adriana Lima and the actor Orlando Bloom, but one face remained a mystery.
For years, internet sleuths tried to identify the unknown woman. A Reddit community devoted entirely to the hunt currently counts over 40,000 members. (That number has swelled in recent days.)
For years, they tried and failed, chasing leads, testing theories and ultimately coming up empty-handed. This month, several users on the platform finally followed the right clues.
A user who goes by StefanMorse wrote that he had digitally edited the original image to make it look “less like a fabric and more like a real person.” The user, who did not respond to a request for comment, said in his post that he then ran that image through a facial-recognition search engine, which turned up Ms. Sarda’s name.
From there, another user, nicknamed IndigoRoom, tracked down the photographer of the original image of Ms. Sarda that had been modified for the fabric. The picture came from a Spanish magazine in 2006, and the photographer, Leandre Escorsell, confirmed its legitimacy.
Finally, word made its way to Ms. Sarda, who was shocked to discover that she had been at the center of a yearslong mystery. Speaking with The New York Times, Ms. Sarda discussed grappling with her sudden digital fame. This interview was edited and condensed for clarity.
How did you learn that people online were searching for you?
It’s funky. One day I open my email, this guy says, “Hello, can you confirm this is your face?”
Did that creep you out?
I said, “Yeah, it’s me, but who are you?” He tried to explain, but I didn’t realize it was going to be so big.
What else did he ask?
“Do you have the original?” And I’m like, “Well, I can look for it, but I really don’t know where it is, you know?” And he’s like, “You don’t know how big this is. We’ve been searching for you for the past five years.”
Did you have the image?
It was in my agency book. I didn’t think I had it because I didn’t look at that book for the last 10 years, but I had it.
What do you remember about this specific image?
This was an editorial from Woman magazine. It was a little book that came inside the magazine with all the styles for summer.
You were also on the cover of that issue of the magazine.
I was wearing a yellow silk dress with no back from Versace. I really wanted to keep it.
Did anything about that shoot seem special or different to you?
No! It was an editorial, a really nice editorial. I never expected this would show up 20 years later.
Are you still modeling?
I quit in 2009, and when I quit I really quit. My grandma got sick. I came here to support her, which was supposed to last for two months. Then it was longer. Then I fell in love and had children. I never went back. It’s my alter ego, you know? So if somebody that has a good idea comes and says, “Come on, let’s go make some pics!” I will go and do it.
How many people have reached out to you about this?
I really can’t count them. I have downloaded, like, 27 apps in the last two days.
Including TikTok. Are you going to start making videos?
Let’s see. Why not?
Have your friends and family been reaching out?
A lot. And people in the street. I’m not ready for this.
How are you feeling about the attention?
I really don’t know yet. It’s been too much for me for the last few days. I’m trying to enjoy it because after reading all the comments, nobody’s, like, hating me or saying anything wrong, you know? So many of these people have been looking for me for so long and taking effort to find me. It makes me happy in a certain way. It makes me worried also. I’m trying to give them what they were looking for because they made a lot of effort, you know, just to find a person on a fabric.
What worries you?
How far this could go. How this is going to change my life.
I think it’s hard to truly comprehend going viral until you live it.
I can always hide.
The post The Internet Spent Years Searching for Her. She Had No Idea. appeared first on New York Times.
