Beth Chapman, star of the reality TV show “Dog The Bounty Hunter,” lost her ongoing battle with cancer and died Wednesday morning in a Honolulu hospital. She was 51.
Her husband, Duane “Dog” Chapman, who also starred on the series, announced the heartbreaking news on social media that she had climbed that “stairway to heaven.
“It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain,” the 66-year-old bounty hunter tweeted to his thousands of followers. (RELATED: Legendary Comic Don Rickles Died At Age 90)
Duane and Beth Chapman arrive at the 48th ACM Awards in Las Vegas, April 7, 2013. REUTERS/Steve Marcus
“Only today, she [Beth] hiked the stairway to heaven,” he added. “We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.” (RELATED: Hollywood Reacts To Death Of Legendary Actress Doris Day)
It’s 5:32 in Hawaii, this is the time she would wake up to go hike Koko Head mountain. Only today, she hiked the stairway to heaven. We all love you, Beth. See you on the other side.
— Duane Dog Chapman (@DogBountyHunter) June 26, 2019
It comes following reports earlier in the week that Beth had been placed in a medically induced coma and wasn’t expected to recover.
Beth was diagnosed in 2017 with stage 2 throat cancer, according to TMZ. She underwent surgery to remove it and was cancer free. But doctors notified her in November that it had returned. In an interview in December with US Weekly, Duane shared that his wife was not necessarily being cooperative with doctors and was interested in exploring other alternative therapies.
“Beth will not take anything the doctors want to give her,” Chapman shared at the time. “Even the doctor told me he doesn’t want her to have seizures if the pain is that bad, but she won’t do it. She takes over-the-counter pain meds. She will not take anything prescription.”
In May, Beth hinted that she was stopping chemo because it just wasn’t for her, during an interview with People magazine.
“Chemotherapy is not my bag, people. Sorry, that’s not for me,” Chapman shared. “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.”
Beth and Duane married in 2006 and have two children together, Bonnie Jo and Garry. She also has two other children, Dominic and Cecily from prior relationships.