Polk County: The Sheriff's Department has arrested a man that reportedly broke into a garage, stole over ½ MILLION dollars and 2 guns from a safe and fled in a stolen truck. A confidential informant told deputies that Billy Ray Praytor, 27, was the one who broke into the garage on One Pine Drive in Mill Spring on Jan. 23. Praytor also stole a truck later found abandoned on Highway 108 in Rutherford County. Only some of the money has been found.

Henderson County: A Hendersonville man was flown to Mission Hospital yesterday after his foot became stuck in a milling machine. The Fletcher Fire Department responded to the call at ArvinMeritor where the man was trapped for an hour. The extent of the man’s injuries is not known and his identity is not being released but there was extensive crushing to his foot.

Henderson County: The City Police Department is asking the public for help in locating a 26-year-old who has been missing since January. Byron Dale Frantz was reported missing last Thursday by family members. He was last seen leaving a family member's residence in Hendersonville. He was wearing blue jeans, a brown Polo shirt and a Carhartt coat with a man who was unfamiliar to the family. Anyone with information should contact the Hendersonville Police or your local police department.

Buncombe County: Authorities in Asheville arrested a Hendersonville man late Monday night. He is accused of trying to steal 400 pounds of copper from the Progress Energy plant on Brevard Road.  31-year-old Zechariah Lee Haydock was booked into the Buncombe County jail on various felony theft charges.  He's being held under a $5,000 bond.

Buncombe County: A boy from Arden who was behind the wheel during a crash that killed a friend has been convicted of misdemeanor death by vehicle. The 13-year-old admitted in juvenile court to being delinquent in the Nov. 7 accident that killed 15-year-old Zion Joyce. The sentencing information has not been released.

The unusually mild winter continues to improve attendance for the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Park officials report that nearly 266,000 people came to the park on the Tennessee-North Carolina border last month, compared with just over 214,000 in January 2011. The numbers continued to increase in December when visits jumped 37.7 percent, compared with the same month in 2010.

Only minor damage was reported yesterday morning after an earthquake centered in Missouri shook at least nine other states. The magnitude 4.0 earthquake was centered near the town of East Prairie. Several people in Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee reported being awakened by the quake that happened around 4 a.m. A few residents here in North Carolina, Alabama, Indiana and Georgia also felt it. The earthquake lasted about seven seconds.

UPSTATE NEWS:

Greenville County: A body was found inside a home after a fire yesterday morning in Taylors. Fire crews rushed to the home on McConnell Road off Wade Hampton Boulevard around 5:30AM  According to reports, a passing motorist called 911 to report the home fully engulfed in flames. Just before 9AM, the Fire Department requested an arson investigator to respond to the fire scene. A body was later found inside, but it has not been identified. Foul play may be expected in the investigation.