© 2026 ABC News

A representative for Heinz confirmed to \"Good Morning America\" that they were able to \"discuss the best way to help support him and his family\" and \"are working out the logistical details of gifting him his new boat.\"

The message in a bottle Instagram post reached nearly 5 million users and garnered over 4,000 likes, which was a record for the brand, the representative told \"GMA.\"

As of time of publication, there were no additional details on the size, brand or value of the new vessel.

In December, while Francois was working on repairs for his boat near the Dutch part of the island in Saint Martin, he was pulled out to sea, according to ABC News New York City station WABC. The Colombian Navy eventually rescued Francois after 24 days aboard the boat that had the word \"help\" carved into the hull in the northwest of Colombia's Puerto Bolívar.

The sailor told Colombian authorities that he \"lacked the navigational knowledge to return to shore\" and explained that he survived off of a bottle of ketchup, stock cubes mixed with water, and garlic powder.

Dominican news site EmoNews posted a Facebook Live video with Francoism, which was ultimately what led Heinz to him. \"Incredible. We've hopped into your DMs - let's get Elvis his boat,\" the official account commented on the video.

","canonicalUrl":"https://abcnews.com/GMA/Food/heinz-spoke-dominican-sailor-survived-off-ketchup-plans/story?id=97513859","legacySlug":"/food/story/heinz-spoke-dominican-sailor-survived-off-ketchup-plans-97513859","noIndexNoFollow":false},"publishTime":"22:59","publishDate":"02-28-2023","updatedTime":"23:01","updatedDate":"02-28-2023","socialImage":{"alt":"Heinz brand tomato ketchup arranged in Brooklyn, New York, July 22, 2022.","credit":"Gabby Jones/Bloomberg via Getty Images, FILE","ratio":"16x9","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/heinz-ketchup-gty-jef-230228_1677607857888_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg","width":992,"height":558},"datePublished":"2/28/2023 22:59:00 GMT","video":{"live":false,"id":97513859,"headline":"Heinz spoke to sailor who survived off ketchup","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA HEINZ","description":"The ketchup brand confirmed they spoke with Elvis Francois.","duration":"0:17","posterImg":{"url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","width":608,"height":342},"video":{"feed":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/09/210922_gma_digital_ketchup_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8"},"playlist":["131830882","130993584","129878263"]},"relatedItems":[{"contentType":"video","date":"April 8, 2026","headline":"Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","section":"News","slug":"/video/131830882","id":"131830882","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Ceasefire analysis, unanswered questions ahead","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260408_gma_krl1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"March 12, 2026","headline":"Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","section":"News","slug":"/video/130993584","id":"130993584","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Winter whiplash plunges temperatures along the East Coast","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260312_gma_zee_storm2_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}},{"contentType":"video","date":"February 5, 2026","headline":"Measles outbreak in Florida","section":"News","slug":"/video/129878263","id":"129878263","image":{"alt":"VIDEO: Measles outbreak in Florida","credit":"ABCNews.com","ratio":"1x1","url":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","width":384,"height":384},"images":{"alt":"VIDEO: Measles outbreak in Florida","credit":"ABCNews.com","crops":[{"16x9":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_16x9_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_16x9_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"9x16":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_9x16_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_9x16_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_16x9_1600.jpg"}},{"1x1":{"small":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_1x1_608.jpg","medium":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_1x1_992.jpg","large":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/260205_gma_battah1_hpMain_1x1_1600.jpg"}}]}}],"relatedContentSection":"news","schemaContent":{"name":"Heinz spoke to sailor who survived off ketchup","description":"The ketchup brand confirmed they spoke with Elvis Francois.","duration":"0:17","uploadDate":"02-28-2023","publication":"02-28-2023","images":"https://s.abcnews.com/images/GMA/default-img-undefined.png","url":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/09/210922_gma_digital_ketchup_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","contentUrl":"https://service-pkgabcnews.akamaized.net/opp/hls/abcnews/2021/09/210922_gma_digital_ketchup_,500,800,1200,1800,2500,3200,4500,.mp4.csmil/playlist.m3u8","link":"https://www.goodmorningamerica.com/food/story/heinz-spoke-dominican-sailor-survived-off-ketchup-plans-97513859"}},"playlist":[{"id":"132033010","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131912713","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131830583","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131834976","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554765","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131554815","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131543053","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131432442","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131121474","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131247079","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131228784","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131178806","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131142257","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131046664","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131048076","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"131033212","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130999943","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130971027","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130962159","contentType":"story","section":"news"},{"id":"130896721","contentType":"story","section":"news"}],"kvps":{"pgtyp":"article","lang":"en","sp":"goodmorningamerica","programmatic":"true","bundleId":"com.abcnews"}},"analytics":{"accountID":"wdgnewwdgnewgmaweb","ns":"gma","pageName":"gma:food:video","pageType":"video","globalSpecVersion":"v1.08","siteDifferentiator":"gma:site","tagID":"g_page01","userABCookie":"0","section":"food","title":"Heinz spoke to sailor who survived off ketchup","pubTime":"17:59","pubDate":"02-28-2023","modTime":"18:01","modDate":"02-28-2023","taxonomyTags":"none","id":97513859,"editorialOtherSubjects":"","wordCount":"none","columns":"none","authors":"","authorsUnit":"none","authorsBureau":"none","subBrand":"Good Morning America","provider":"Good Morning America","videoName":"Heinz spoke to sailor who survived off ketchup","mediaAssetTitle":"GMA HEINZ","videoId":97513859,"mediaOnPage":"video","legacySlug":"/food/story/heinz-spoke-dominican-sailor-survived-off-ketchup-plans-97513859"},"taboola":{}},"request":{"headers":{},"httpVersion":"1.1","method":"GET","url":"/video/97513859","vary":{"host":"www.goodmorningamerica.com","cached":true,"path":"/video/97513859","forwarded-proto":"https","device":"desktop","userab":"0"}},"viewport":{"width":1260,"height":0},"user":{}};