So far, it hasn’t been able to do so, despite sharing pleas on social media bearing the hashtag #FindTheKetchupBoatGuy and taking other measures. In an Instagram post, Heinz said that in its investigation, it had inquired with the Colombian navy, which helped rescue Francois last month, and the government of Dominica, as well as “several Elvis impersonators” (a company representative confirmed that the people were posing as Elvis Francois, not Elvis Presley).
Francois’s story was harrowingly cinematic: He had been repairing his boat near the island of Saint Martin, where he lives, in December when currents pulled the vessel out into the Caribbean Sea. He tried to call for help but had no signal, he said in news reports, and so he spent 24 days waiting for rescue. He survived on ketchup, garlic powder and Maggi seasoning cubes, according to officials, along with fresh rainwater he collected.
“At some point I lost hope and thought about my family, but I thank the coast guard,” he said in a video released by the Colombian navy. “If it weren’t for them, I wouldn’t be telling the story.”
Francois was finally discovered by a plane passing overhead who saw the word “help” he had written across the hull of his boat, according to reports, and he was picked up by a container ship.
Without knowing for sure that it was Heinz brand ketchup that helped keep Francois alive (though they assumed it was, given Heinz’s market dominance), the company decided to give him a “state of the art boat,” a Heinz representative said in the email, which might have been a neat publicity stunt/kind gesture on its own. But the plan to offer the man “a new boat equipped with full navigational technology to avoid another disaster in the future” hit a snag when he couldn’t be found. And so Heinz took to social media, enlisting the public in the widening mission.
“We’re setting this message adrift into the sea of the internet, because if anyone can help us find him, it’s you,” read an Instagram post seeking leads. “If you or anyone you know can help us get in contact with Elvis Francois, please drop us a DM.”
Even after multiple posts, Francois remains under the radar. Heinz wants to take the search international and plans on enlisting “other Heinz markets around the world” to help the company track him down. They’ve received some wacky tips — or as the company’s representative wrote, “we’ve heard from some very interesting folks.” A group of internet sleuths is on the case, and the company also is hoping to hear back from the prime minister of Colombia. “We’re hoping to spread the word far and wide so Heinz can finally get in touch with Elvis,” the representative said in the email.
