Michael Randolph Jr. went missing from the Chiefland area sometime in 2004. No one ever reported him missing; he just simply wasn’t seen again. Michael Randolph Jr. was known to law enforcement having been arrested multiple times on drug related charges. Rumors he was murdered circulated for years amongst the illegal drug community. Most said Solomon “John” Hall killed him. No proof he was murdered was ever offered nor was a missing person’s report ever filed.
FAST FORWARD TO JULY 2017.
Detectives working an unrelated drug case stumbled onto evidence giving some validity to the rumors that Michael Randolph Jr. was murdered. A full scale investigation was launched zeroing in on the date he disappeared. Michael Randolph Jr. did not have a formal full time job and counted on a State disability check to survive. The investigation determined he stopped collecting his disability payments in May of 2004. No activity was documented on his bank account and no person interviewed could recall seeing him in many years. Most thought he moved out of the area.
Detectives received information that Hall was not only responsible for his death but also responsible for disposing of his remains. LCSO Detectives coordinated efforts with agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to aid in this very cold murder investigation. Detectives, acting on tips secured search warrants and began digging in various locations south of Chiefland looking for Randolph. Unfortunately, all of the efforts to find his remains were fruitless.
The case continued. In December of 2019 sufficient evidence had been collected to seek an indictment by a Grand Jury on Solomon Hall for the murder of Michael Randolph Jr. The case was presented and the Grand Jury who returned a TRUE BILL. Hall, already serving a sentence in the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) for unrelated drug convictions, was arrested for the murder.
The case was resolved in the 8th Judicial Circuit in May of 2025. Hall accepted a plea offer for an additional 15 years in DOC, officially making him a convicted murderer. Hall never disclosed where Michael Randolph Jr’s remains can be found. This portion of the case remains open as Michael’s family who want to provide him with a proper burial. Anyone with information of where his remains can be found is asked to contact Detective Joe Barrera at 352-486-5111.