Kristin Little’s mom was stunned after she learned her daughter, who recently celebrated her 39th birthday with her family, had died after her car plunged over a mountainside in Arizona on Friday, Aug. 16.
“It was such a blessing to have that experience,” mom Jinger Cutting, 62, said.
Jinger and her daughters enjoyed a girl’s weekend in Las Vegas earlier this month, she recalls. “It was a beautiful time…and something I’ll always remember,” adds Cutting, who works together at her real estate company with daughter Jessica Oberan, 40.
From left to right, Kristin Little with mom Jinger Cutting and sister Jessica Oberan.
Jinger Cutting
On the night of the accident, Little and her miniature German Shepherd named CJ, who was her constant companion, traveled to the popular outlook in the Thumb Butte area in Prescott, Ariz., to watch the sunset.
However, Cutting says that she was told by authorities that as Little began the drive home on the dirt road, she somehow veered from the right side to the left side of the mountain. Authorities say her car ended up tumbling 1,000 feet down the mountainside.
Thanks to her Apple Watch, authorities were “immediately” notified and “were on site within an hour,” Cutting says. “In this area, you would have never found her otherwise had that not been on.”
Cutting says her daughter’s dog, who is now with her, was found near Little and “remarkably” is “not injured at all.”
“It’s just another indication there is a God out there because God is giving me CJ,” Cutting says as her voice catches. “I know Krissy is one of God’s Angel Warriors now. But I’m a little angry with God right now. But someday I will understand.”
Kristin Little with her dog CJ, who survived the crash.
Jinger Cutting
Cutting says her daughter, a third generation real estate professional who took pride in her work and owned her own home, was “beautiful inside and out.”
Little was always eager to chat with people and loved spending time outdoors, doing activities like paddle boarding and hiking.
“I think that girl was an angel on earth. The outpouring from the community has been amazing,” Cutting says. “While we are preparing her celebration of life, which has to be outdoors so it is big enough to hold everybody and she needs to be outdoors.”
In a press release from the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office, officials said that after finding the victim that night, due to the difficult terrain, a decision was made to wait until daylight to recover her body with YCSO personnel remaining with her through the night.
From left to right, Kristin Little with dad John and mom Jinger Cutting on a large family vacation to California this summer.
Jinger Cutting
Cutting said she and her husband John Cutting, a retired police officer, plan to speak more with police about the ongoing investigation.
“It won’t bring Krissy back, but it would just be good to know what happened,” Cutting says.
