Frank Cole

Born in Saskatchewan to a New Brunswick father from the diplomatic field, Cole grew up in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Czechoslovakia, Switzerland and South Africa. A well-educated traveller, he studied languages at Carleton University and later 16mm film production at Algonquin College with the legendary Peter Evanchuck and Peter Wintonick. His films include A Documentary (1979), The Mountenays (1981), A Life (1986) and Life Without Death (2000).

Cole managed to cross the Sahara Desert alone on camel, the first North American to do so. The journey took more than 11 months and covered 7,300 km,[1] Cole travelled through Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and Sudan, often passing through civil or tribal war zones, his journey ending at the Red Sea.[2] Cole earned a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Footage from this journey was used in his critically acclaimed documentary Life Without Death.[1]

In 2000, Cole returned to cross the Sahara again; this time his plan was to cross and then return from the Red Sea back to the Atlantic Ocean. In October 2000, he left Timbuktu for Gao on the sand track known as Autoroute Nationale. He arrived in Ber and departed eastwards after speaking with the Malian Gendarmerie.

Hours later, Cole met one or two bandits who bludgeoned him to death. Cole fought back but could not overpower the attackers. Cole died at sunset and was tied to a small desert shrub tree for reasons unknown.

His killing included the theft of most of his exposed film recordings and camera gear. The last images of his last trip were filmed in Mauritania and shipped back to his family in Ottawa where they now rest. His camels, bought and tattooed in Mauritania, have never been found.

His remains are thought to have been cryonically preserved at the Michigan Cryonics Institute[3][4][5][6]. Based on the date of his death, he would probably be patient number 35, who was preserved on 16 November 2000.[7]