A sailor who was lost at sea for weeks in January and survived mostly on ketchup was able to get a new state-of-the-art boat.
And a nice gift is thanks to ketchup giant Heinz trying to find Elvis Francois.
The company posted a call on social media on February 14, hoping to track down the elusive Dominican sailor. According to Heinz’s social media, they have already contacted the Dominican government, where Francois is from, and the Colombian Navy, who rescued Francois in Puerto, Colombia, northwest of Bolivar.
But so far, none of the attempts to find François have been successful, says Heinz.
As such, ketchup retailers are now “asking the public to help them hunt,” according to a statement shared with CNN in an email.
“We are also seeking to be able to cover new boats with full navigation technology to avoid another disaster in the future if we have a reliable lead to contact Elvis,” the company said. Added.
Heinz also suggested fans use the hashtag #FindTheKetchupBoatGuy to power up their searches.
François, 47, was repairing a boat near the Dutch territory of St. Martin in December when his boat was pulled out to sea. He told Colombian authorities that he spent 24 days at sea without the navigational knowledge to return to shore. He survived on bottles of ketchup mixed with water, his garlic powder, and his cubes of Maggie Stock.
He was rescued after a plane spotted a yacht with the word “Help” inscribed on the hull, according to Colombian authorities.
