Colombian Navy press office via AP
- A man who was stranded at sea in a sailboat survived on almost nothing but ketchup.
- Following his ordeal, Heinz, famous for its ketchup, wants to connect with Elvis Francois.
- The company hopes to help him get a new boat if it can find him.
Heinz is sending out a message in a ketchup bottle, hoping to find a man who survived for nearly a month stranded at sea eating almost nothing but ketchup.
Elvis Francois, 47, was rescued by the Colombian Navy last month, after he spent more than 20 days at sea in a sailboat, Insider reported. His resourcefulness made headlines, focusing on how he lived on a bottle of ketchup, seasoning cubes and garlic powder.
Now, Heinz is broadcasting a plea to find Francois to celebrate his return home.
"You may remember Elvis Francois as the brave sailor who survived on nothing but ketchup and spices while adrift at sea for 24 days," the company wrote in an Instagram post. "Well, Heinz wants to celebrate his safe return home and help him buy a new boat… but we can't seem to find him."
Francois was swept out to sea in December while he was making repairs near the island of St. Martin, where he lives. He scrawled the word "help" on the hull of his sailboat, helping lead to his rescue.
Heinz has been pushing the search on social media for weeks using the hashtag #FindTheKetchupBoatGuy — each of its last three Instagram posts are about Francois.
Francois lives in Dominica, a small Caribbean island nation with just over 72,000 residents. In one post, Heinz zeroed in on the country hoping to get in touch with the sailor.
If Heinz gets in touch with Francois, the company said it hopes to help him get a new boat.
"Elvis Francois could be anywhere in Dominica," the company wrote on Instagram. "So, we're turning to you, internet, to help us track him down so we can celebrate his safe return and help him buy a new boat."