Justin Bieber lookalike Toby Sheldon found dead after going missing
Toby Sheldon, the Justin Bieber superfan who dropped upwards of $100,000 on plastic surgery to look like the pop star, has died, according to his rep.
The 35-year-old singer-songwriter, who also went by Tobias Strebel, had been reported missing since Aug. 18, the Los Angeles Police Department said.
Sheldon was last seen in the Hollywood area around 6 p.m. Aug. 17, police said.
Shedon’s body was found in a San Fernando Valley Motel 6 on Friday, TMZ reported; the LAPD has yet to confirm that the body was Sheldon’s.
Police told the website drugs were found in the room, but said it was unclear how Sheldon died.
According to E! News, Sheldon’s disappearance was possibly linked to a breakup with his boyfriend. Police did not believe the case appeared suspicious, E! said.
The singer, who became known in the media as Bieber’s intentional lookalike, devoted five years to modeling himself after a younger, longer-haired Bieber. He appeared on TLC’s “My Strange Addiction” and E!’s plastic-surgery docu-series “Botched” in 2014.
“What brought me to Bieber was the whole package: the full cheeks, the full temples, the bright open eyes, the full luscious lips, and facial framing … [he’s] just extraordinarily beautiful,” Sheldon said on “Botched.”
His manager, Gina Rodriguez, said Thursday that her client was “a kind, caring, and gentle soul that was dedicated and passionate to his music and career.”
“For all the slings and arrows put forth against him, he always held his head high, treated everyone with respect, and had a warmth and glow to him that made anyone around him smile,” she said. “He has a genuine talent and love for songwriting and it showed in everything he did.”
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