206 Cases Solved. Advancing justice for missing persons, unsolved homicides, unidentified and unclaimed remains.
⚠️ Warning: Viewer Discretion Advised ⚠️ The following section contains detailed information about serial killers, their crimes, and case details. Some content may be disturbing or graphic, including descriptions of violence, criminal behavior, and sensitive subject matter.
Description
See any errors? Let us know!

Daniel Owen Conahan: The Hog Trail Killer

Background

Daniel Owen Conahan Jr., born on May 11, 1954, is an American convicted murderer and suspected serial killer. He is infamously known as the "Hog Trail Killer" due to the nature and location of the crimes attributed to him. The nickname refers to the remote, wooded areas—often along hog trails—where the victims’ bodies were discovered, typically in the southwestern part of Florida. Conahan was raised in Charlotte County, Florida. After a stint in the U.S. Navy, where he was discharged for reasons linked to his sexual orientation, Conahan returned to Florida. By the 1990s, he was living in Punta Gorda, Florida, and began a series of violent crimes primarily targeting transient men.

Modus Operandi

Conahan lured his victims—usually homeless men or drifters—with offers of money for modeling or posing for nude photography. Once secluded, he would bind them, sexually assault them, and then murder them—often by strangulation. The bodies were then mutilated and left in remote wooded areas, often partially buried or left exposed to the elements. The gruesome mutilations often involved genital mutilation or the removal of body parts.

Confirmed Victim

Daniel Conahan was convicted in 1999 for the murder of Richard Allen Montgomery, a 21-year-old man whose body was discovered in April 1996. Montgomery had been found bound, strangled, and mutilated in the woods in Charlotte County.
  • Richard Allen Montgomery – April 16, 1996, Charlotte County, Florida
...Read More
Victims
See any mistakes? Let us know!
Confirmed Victims: (1)
  • Richard Montgomery Age: (21), Date of Death: 1996-04-03
  •     ...View 0 additional victims
    Suspected Victims:
  • Kenneth Smith , Date of Death: 1995
  • Eric Kohler , Date of Death: 1994
  • Unidentified Male , Date of Death: 1996
  • James Self , Date of Death: 1994
  • Christopher-Skeletal Remains , Date of Death: 1997
  • Links to Additional Sources (20)
    See any mistakes? Let us know!
    Killer's Details

    Daniel Owen

    Conahan

    May 11, 1954 (age 70) Charlotte, North Carolina, United States

    Male

    White

    The Hog Trail Killer

    First degree murder, Kidnapping

    Death

    1 convicted, 12+ suspected

    1996

    Union Correctional Institution

    07/03/2025