Heinz locates sailor who survived on ketchup, plans to buy him a new boat

Elvis Francois, who drifted at sea for more than three weeks, scrawled the word “help” on his sailboat’s hull.

Heinz, the maker of America’s favorite ketchup, launched a search on social media calling for internet sleuths to help track down the sailor from Dominica who spent weeks lost at sea, surviving mostly off the condiment. On Monday, the company announced he was finally found.

As CNN reports, Heinz heard about Elvis Francois’ headline-making ordeal and set out to locate him and help him buy a new boat. The company posted a callout to its Instagram page on Feb. 14, in which Heinz wrote, “We need your help tracking down an amazing man with an amazing story.”

Heinz reportedly reached out to the government of Dominica, as well as the Colombian navy, and initially had no success in locating Francois. The ketchup retailer turned to the public asking for “help with the hunt,” according to a statement shared with CNN.

“We’re also asking for any credible leads to contact Elvis so we can help cover a new boat equipped with full navigational technology to avoid another disaster in the future,” the company added.

As today! 

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