In this photo provided by Colombia’s Navy press office, castaway Elvis François is attended to by Colombian Navy members after he was rescued near the department of La Guajira, in the extreme north of Colombia, as he sits on board the merchant ship “CMA CGM Voltario” at the port of Cartagena, Colombia, on Monday, January 16. According to the Navy, the 47-year-old from Dominica said he had been adrift for 24 days in the Caribbean Sea after he was repairing a boat last December near the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin in the North-eastern Caribbean. (Colombian Navy press office via AP)
PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania--Heinz, an American food company, put out a call for help on social media to find Elvis François, a Dominican sailor who was lost at sea and only had ketchup, garlic powder and Maggi cubes to eat.
The American company said in a series of posts on social media late last week, “We need your help finding an amazing man with an amazing story. You may remember Elvis François as the brave sailor who was lost at sea for 24 days and lived on nothing but ketchup and spices. Well, Heinz wants to help him buy a new boat to celebrate his safe return home … but we just can’t find him. So, we’re sending this message out into the Internet, because if anyone can help us find him, it’s you. Please send us a direct message if you or anyone you know can help us get in touch with Elvis François.”
Heinz said that they had reached out to the Dominican government, the Colombian navy, and several people who said they were François, but nothing had worked.
François’s scary story of surviving began in December 2022, when currents swept his boat out to sea while he was making repairs off the island of St. Maarten/St. Martin.
He tried to call his family, but as his boat moved farther out to sea, he lost cell phone signal.
A Colombian Navy patrol plane found François’s ship after it had been drifting at sea for a few days.
François was saved by a commercial ship 120 nautical miles north of La Guajira, Colombia.
He was checked out and found to be healthy. ~ St. Vincent Times ~
