Heinz is looking for the man who survived 24 days at sea on ketchup, saying it wants to track down the ‘amazing man with an amazing story’ to gift him a brand new boat.
Elvis Francois, a 27-year-old man from Dominica, spent nearly a month lost at sea after getting caught up in adverse weather conditions.
He had engraved ‘help’ into his sailboat in desperation – a message that was eventually spotted by a plane.
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When Francois was found, he was 700 miles from where he started his restoration project on the boat on the island of Saint Martin.
Bad weather had dragged his boat out to sea and, without the correct navigational knowledge, he wasn't sure how to sail back to the shore he had come from.
After being rescued, Francois told NBC News that he’d managed to survive on bottle of tomato ketchup – with only garlic powder and stock cubes for extra sustenance.
“It was rough,” he said. “Without no food, it was just a bottle of ketchup that was on the boat. Garlic powder and Maggi (stock cubes), so I mixed it up with some water."
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After hearing about Francois’ adventure, ketchup manufacturer Heinz is keen to help him ‘celebrate his safe return home’ by gifting him a new boat.
The only thing is, the company hasn’t been able to track him down just yet.
In a recent Instagram post, Heinz said: "Help us #findtheketchupboatguy. To whoever finds this message. We need your help tracking down an amazing man with an amazing story.
"You may remember Elvis Francois as the brave sailor who survived on nothing but ketchup and spices while adrift at sea for 24 days.
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"Well, Heinz wants to celebrate his safe return home and help him buy a new boat… but we can’t seem to find him.”
“So, we’re setting this message adrift into the sea of the internet because if anyone can help us find him, it’s you. If you or anyone you know can help us get in contact with Elvis Francois, please drop us a DM.
"Don’t forget to share this post with all your friends so we can #FindTheKetchupBoatGuy.”
A spokesperson for Heinz told NBC the company wanted to give Francois ‘a new boat equipped with full navigational technology to avoid another disaster in the future.’
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In a follow-up post on Instagram, Heinz said: “Square miles: 290, Villages: 53, Towns: 18, Elvis Francois?
"Elvis Francois could be anywhere in Dominica. So, we’re turning to you, the internet, to help us track him down so we can celebrate his safe return and help him buy a new boat.”
Another update last week said the company had reached out to ‘several Elvis impersonators’, the ‘government of Dominica’, and even ‘the Colombian Navy', but that it had ‘reached an impasse’.
“But we know he’s still out there,” Heinz added.
“Now we need your help tracking him down so we can help buy him a new boat.”
Topics: World News, Food And Drink
Jess Hardiman