Dog The Bounty Hunter’s wife Beth Chapman has died aged 51 after a battle with cancer, it was confirmed today.
The reality star, best known for her A&E series Dog The Bounty Hunter with her husband, passed away on Wednesday morning in Hawaii after being placed in a medically induced coma on 22 June.
Her husband – real name Duane Chapman – confirmed the news today on Twitter.
‘It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain,’ he wrote today, as he broke the news to his followers.
‘Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.’
The 51-year-old was admitted to the intensive care unit at the Queen’s Medical Center in Hawaii on Saturday, with Dog The Bounty Hunter saying that he and his family were ‘humbly [asking] everyone to please pray for Beth’.
The family also sent their ‘sincere thanks to everyone for their prayers throughout Beth’s battle with cancer’.
Beth had been rushed to hospital from the Chapmans’ home in Honolulu, with a 911 call reporting a ‘choking emergency’.
On Tuesday night Duane broke his silence to update his fans who were following Beth’s condition closely, saying he would soon be releasing a statement.
‘90% of what you’re hearing is fake news,’ he wrote on Twitter.
‘I don’t mean to be nasty but some are filling in the blanks. @wgnamerica will be releasing an accurate update soon. Please keep prayers coming!’
On Sunday, Beth’s daughter Bonnie shared a picture to her Instagram story of hospital equipment and wrote: ‘There’s not much of an update I can give, I can say she’s getting good care. I know you guys wanted more, but y’know it’s a coma, much much [sic] can be updated.’
Beth’s final tweet came on 22 June, when she mocked her husband for mowing the lawn, writing: ‘And that’s the fourth time this week he’s mowed the lawn.
‘What do you think? Does the man have something on his mind or he just forgot how many times he’s mowed the lawn #AskingForAFriend.’
Beth revealed in September 2017 that she had stage two cancer in September 2017, with A&E airing a two-hour special called Dog and Beth: Fight Of Their Lives documenting her health scare.
Months later, she announced she was cancer-free, but unfortunately, the cancer returned last year, leading her to have an emergency operation to remove a mass in her throat.
Her health deteriorated after the surgery, and Beth later learned the cancer had spread to her lungs and was incurable.
In May, Beth told a congregation at The Source Church in Bradenton, Florida, that she had stopped her chemotherapy treatment and was putting her faith in God.
She said: ‘I don’t go to God and go, “Why did I get cancer?” He’ll roll his eyes at me again, because I know why — because this is the ultimate test of faith. It is the evidence of things hoped for and it is the substance of things not known.’
Saying chemo is ‘not my bag’, Beth continued: ‘So for me, this is the ultimate test of faith. This is my ultimate lesson. And it will either be taught to me or to you. And I am fine with taking the hit for everyone else. Because I think I know another guy who did the same thing.’
Dog, 66, told the Daily Mail earlier this year that Beth wanted to spend her last days on the hunt, tracking down on the run criminals for their new WGN America show Dog’s Most Wanted, which is due to air next year.
He said: ‘My baby has cancer and she is fighting like hell. I have cried a lot over this because Beth is my everything.
‘Despite all of the obstacles I have overcome, this is by far the biggest test of my life and mark my words, I will not let her die. She is my rock and my bodyguard. I will do everything I can to keep her here.’
The bounty hunter continued: ‘If this were me, I would be a big sissy. But not Beth. She is still hitting the ground running with me. Beth is determined cancer won’t slow her down. ‘In fact, I am so amazed by Beth’s strength and positive attitude.
‘She has told me repeatedly that if these are her last days on earth she wants to spend every moment with me on the hunt, living life to the fullest and enjoying the time we have left together.’
Beth is survived by Duane, who she married in 2006 after 16 years on and off together.
They met in 1986 when Beth was 19 years old, and dated on and off for a decade, despite marrying others within that period. They settled down together in 1995. and tied the knot on May 20 2006, at a Hilton hotel in Waikoloa Village in Hawaii.
The couple have two children together, Bonnie and Garry, while Beth is also mum to Dominic and Cecily (the latter from her marriage to her first husband, a friend from high school).
Beth was Dog’s fifth wife, after his marriages to La Fonda Sue Honeyctt, Anne M Tegnell, Lyssa Rae Brittain and Tawny Marie.
The former bail bondsman’s eldest child Christopher Michael Hecht was born of a relationship with Debbie White, while he had two sons, Duane Lee and Leland with La Fonda.
Dog had three children, Zebediah, Wesley, and J.R. ‘James’, with Anne; Zebediah died shortly after birth.
He is also father to Barbara, Tucker and Lyssa ‘Baby Lyssa’ Rae from his marriage to Lyssa Rae Brittain – Barbara was killed in a car crash the day before her father married Beth.
Beth and Dog’s relationship and career were laid bare on the series Dog The Bounty Hunter, which ran from eight series from 2004 to 2012.
They also starred in a spin-off, Dog and Beth: On The Hunt from 2013 until 2015.
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