Daughter of missing man Larry Burton wants answers after court case ends in $50 fine

Father's Day is a kick in the gut for LaTonya Swift, stirring grief and anger over her missing dad.

Swift's father, Larry Burton of Greensboro, who suffered from dementia, went missing from an unlicensed 1215 Moody St. adult care facility operated by Hazel Mae Forman of Greensboro one year ago next week.

Burton's photograph shows a glowing kindness, the face of a father who toiled hard as a weaver at Cone Mills for decades, taught his children to cook and clean, and moved through life quietly.

"He kept to himself and was kind of quiet, but he was also very funny and loved family. He was my everything,'' Swift said by phone from her Florida home on Friday.

Anxiety and frustration have colored Swift's days, weeks and months as the search by the Greensboro Police Department for her father and information about his disappearance continues, she said.

"It's the fact that we don't know anything,'' Swift said. "No tips, no information. It leaves a hole in my heart because I have no evidence that he even left the facility, only that he is missing from that residence.''

Burton, who would have turned 75 on Feb. 3, had been placed at the now-closed HMF Family Home Care facility eight days before he disappeared and was reported missing on July 3, according to police reports.

"We were discussing having him a big party for his 75th and he had asked where it was gonna be .... and we didn't even get to do it,'' Swift said through a breaking voice.

By July 10, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services shuttered the 6-bed facility and noted in a report that HMF staff provided personal care and administered medication to patients there without a license.

Responding to a complaint about Forman's facility, the NCDHHS initiated legal action against Forman in July 2025, and the agency contacted the GPD and the Guilford County District Attorney to carry out charging Forman with operating without a license. According to Swift, Forman's fee was $1,400 per month for Burton's care.

For any charge brought during that time in 2025, state law classified the violation as a Class 3 misdemeanor. State law further held that the maximum penalty a judge could levy against Forman was a $50 fine, plus court costs.

Then, on Dec. 1, the state legislature amended the law, elevating the licensing crime to a Class H felony, punishable by a maximum of 39 months in prison, explained Guilford County Chief Assistant District Attorney Chris Parrish.

But because Forman was charged before Dec. 1, she was spared the stiffer penalty, Parrish explained.

If charged now, she would be charged as a felon, he said. But there is no way the DA's office can charge her with the new penalty retroactively, Parrish said.

On Tuesday, Forman pleaded guilty to the July 2025 misdemeanor charge in Guilford County District Court and was fined $50 and fined $183 in court costs, according to court records.

Swift said the penalty feels meager "and hit on a disrespectful level to me.''

Parrish reminds, though: "The investigation is not over. This charge was solely about (Forman) running this place without a license, not about the disappearance of Mr. Forman. I do understand people are up in arms, but it's purely (about) licensing.''

And Forman's licensing charge "is not associated with the disappearance (and) does not preclude any other charges,'' Parrish said, declining to discuss specifics because the investigation is ongoing.

That probe is headed by the Greensboro Police Department and could mean future charges, depending on what is found.

"We can agree, it's not enough,'' Parrish said of Forman's penalty. "But the law is very clear,'' he said, noting neither prosecutors or a judge could have charged or fined Forman with more before Dec. 1.

In past years, Forman has operated other adult care facilities at other Guilford County locations, records show. But it is unclear if she is still legally attached to those businesses or whether they are licensed.

If, however, Forman were found to be operating other adult care facilities without a license, she could be charged with a felony under the new law, Parrish said.

Swift won't give up, she says.

"He was an inspiration to my boys,'' she said of her father, who grew up in Elon's Ballpark Community on a farm, one of seven kids. "My grandmother raised her boys to be independent, and he was.''

Until Swift has answers, she said she plans to continue calling the Greensboro Police and the district attorney to press for answers.

"There's a lot of people dissatisfied with the outcome, and we need to know what happened to my father. It's very traumatic.''

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This story was originally published June 21, 2026 at 9:43 AM.