Memorial paid to Prescott woman who fell off cliff
Yavapai County, Arizona – On August 16, a 39-year-old woman was thrown from her vehicle when it went off a cliff in Yavapai County.
YCSO officers had to wait until the next day to retrieve the body due to the depth of the cliff.
The accident happened in the Sambat area, about two miles off Copper Basin Road. Authorities believe she was driving north just after 7 p.m. when her car veered to the right, went over a cliff and down an embankment.
The woman, identified as Christine Little, 39, of Prescott, was found about halfway up the mountain, about 100 feet down.
After discovering Little's body, police decided to wait until the next day to recover it due to darkness and the difficult terrain.
Crews remained on site overnight until it was safe to resume operations, and a drone and a hiking crew using harnesses safely descended the mountain and rescued Little.
Police are continuing to gather evidence and the incident remains under investigation.
“Christine was the light of my life”
According to Little's family, her middle name was Adventure, and that's exactly what she was doing on her final day with her dog, CJ.
Ginger and John Cutting say the room gets brighter and better every time their daughter walks in.
“Kristin was the light of my life,” her mother said.
She was a real estate agent in Prescott and took her job seriously, but she also spent more time in nature.
“Her and I would always go hiking. We'd leave and meet up at my office or somewhere downtown and we'd hike up to Thumb Butte or hike around the lake,” Ginger said.
“We used to go on side-by-side drives, with a group of friends, to Cottonwood and back,” her father said. “She always wanted to do something adventurous.”
According to Little's parents, she loved going to watch the sunset along Sam Butt Road.
She was out there on Friday night when her car went off the road while she was driving. Little didn't survive, but her four-legged best friend, CJ, miraculously escaped unscathed.
“CJ must have been ejected from Chrissy's car when it overturned and was found next to Chrissy's body when rescuers arrived on scene,” her mother said.
CJ was taken to Little's parents' home.
“I can't thank everyone at Yavapai Search and Rescue enough for being with my sweet daughter all night and making sure she was safe,” Ginger said.
She has a little smartwatch Yavapai County Emergency Notification System He quickly helped emergency responders find his daughter.
“If she hadn't had it on or hadn't received the notice, it could have taken us days to find Chris,” she said.
Since Little's death, his family has been comforted by a ray of hope and an overwhelming outpouring of support from the community.
“It really represents who she was and I love that,” Ginger said.
Little's family says they hope to eventually establish a foundation in her name, but first they plan to hold a celebration of their daughter's life in the great outdoors, a place that was important to them.
Family thanks emergency workers
Little's father, John, thanked Yavapai County Deputy Sheriff Abel Sanchez for notifying the family and letting them know it could be until morning before crews could descend the cliff and retrieve his daughter's body.
He also thanked Deputy Miller, who personally returned CJ to Little's family, and Sergeant Horn, who stayed in constant contact with the family during this tragic time.
